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A 



SERIES 



OF 

FAMILIAR DISCOURSES 

ON THE 

APOSTLES' CREED, 



THE 

S 

LORD'S PRAYER, 



AND 

€lje Eitanp; 

WITH A 

TREATISE ON CONFIRMATION 

AND THE 

SACRAMENT. 



. BY .THE LATE 

Rev. W; LANGFORD, D.D. 

Chaplain in Ordinary to his late Majesty, Canon of Windsor, and 
Under Master of Eton School. 



LONDON: 

PUBLISHED BY C. AND J. RIVINCTON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH- 
YARD, AND WATERLOO-PLACE. 



1824 



to 



^ TO THE 

KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY, 



SIRE, 

Your Majesty having graciously 
permitted me the honour of dedicating to 
Your Majesty this volume of Familiar 
Discourses, written by my late respected 
Father, on the most essential doctrines of 
our holy religion, I must ever consider 
such a mark of condescension as one of 
the proudest events of my life, and re- 
member it with the most dutiful gratitude. 

Your Majesty, by kindly honouring 
this publication with your Royal patron- 
age, manifests a further proof of Your 
Majesty's peculiar benevolence of heart, 



vi DEDICATION. 

firm attachment to the Established Church, 
and to the important cause of religion, for 
which Your Majesty is so pre-eminently 
distinguished. 

That the Almighty may grant Your 
Majesty a long and happy reign over a 
loyal and affectionate people, is the sincere 
prayer of Your Majesty's 

Most Devoted and 

Most Faithful Subject, 

C. LANGFORD, 

London, 
31 July, 1824. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The candour of the Reader is requested 
in perusing this volume of Discourses, 
which (with two exceptions, viz. " A 
Treatise on Confirmation" and on the " Sa- 
crament/') were delivered before congre- 
gations in the performance of the Author's 
parochial duties in the^ country, and, on 
that account, written and compiled in a 
plain and unadorned style, and obviously 
never intended for general publicity. 

The Editor flatters himself, notwith- 
standing, that they breathe the language 
of genuine piety, and the true doctrines 
of the Established Church, and in that 
respect may not be unworthy the kind 
patronage he has received, and for which 
he begs to express his grateful acknow- 
ledgments. 



LIST 

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HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY. 
H. R. H. the Duke of York, K. G. 
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H. R. H. the Princess Augusta. 
H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester. 

Amphlett, Rev. Dr. 
Amphlett, Rev. R. H. 
Amphlett, Mrs. 
Atkins, Miss. 
Atkinson, W. J. Esq. 

Brownlow, Earl. 

Bangor, Bishop of. 

Boston, Lord. (Two Copies,) 

Bayley, Mr. Justice. 

Barnard, Sir A. F. K. C. B. 

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Boynton, Sir Francis, Bart. 

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Canning, Right Hon. George, M. P. 

Chancellor, the Vice. 

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Clifton, Lord, M. P. 

Craven, Fulwar, Esq. 

Cowe, Rev. James. 

Curtis, Miss. 

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Darnley, Earl of. 
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Donahoo, Dr. M.D. 
Douglas, Rev. H. 
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Gloucester, Bishop of. 

Gloucester, Dean of. 

Guise, Sir W. Bart. M. P. 

Gibbons, Sir John, Bart. 

Gordon, Robert, Esq. M. P. 

Gossit, Rev. Mr. 

Gardener, S. Esq. 

Graham, John, Esq. 

(trover , Rev.T. B . 

Holland, Lord. 

Hopkins, Lady. 

Horton, R. W. Esq. M.P. 

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Howard, Rev. L. A. 

Hexter, William, Esq. 

HesseltmejW. Escf. 

Irby, Hon. George. 

Ind, James, Esq. 

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xii 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS, 



Langham, Sir James, Bart. 

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Leech, John, Esq. 

Lambert, J. F. Esq. 

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Longford, John, Esq. (Two Copies.) 

Langford, Miss. 

Loftus, R. Esq. 

Mulgrave, Earl of, G. C. B. 

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Murray, Sir John, Bart. 

Murray, Hon. Lady. 

Monck, J. B. Esq. M. P. 

Middleton, Miss. 

Middleton, Miss M. A. 

Montague, John, Esq. 

Montagu, Captain. 

Montagu, G. H. Esq. 

Marsack, R. H. Esq. 

Moore, Rev. Robert. (Two Copies.) 

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Northey, Rev. Edward. 

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LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



xiii 



Oxford, Bishop of. 

Petersham, Viscount. 
Palmer, C.F. Esq. M. P. 
Palmer, Rev. R. 
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Philipps, John, Esq. 
Philip, Dr. Wilson, M.D 
Planta, Miss. 
Penrice, E. B. Esq. 
Pigott, Rev. Dr. Foster. 
Purvis, Major. 
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Reeves, John, Esq. 

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Sydney, Viscount. 

Sydney, Dowager Lady. 

Saltoun, Lord. 

Sondes, Lord. 

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Saxton, Sir Charles, Bart. 

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Smith, Dr. M. D. 

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Walsingham, Lord. (Two Copies,) 
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Wellesley, Lady E. 
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THE 

BELIEF IN GOD. 

ARTICLE I. 
A SERMON. 



SERMON I 



St. Mat. xxviii. 19. 
Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost. 



The three Persons here distinctly named 
by our blessed Lord propose as many ob- 
jects for the faith of Christians. The Union 
by which they subsist, and together are the 
Divine Essence, is to be gathered from the 
express and figurative doctrines of the Holy 
Scriptures. The manner by which this 
mysterious nature of the perfect God is 
thus combined, is not given man in his 
present state to explain to his satisfaction. 
Such knowledge is too wonderful for him, 
and sufficiently shows itself unattainable to 
the degree of understanding hitherto im- 
parted to the mind, by the perplexities and 
conjectures of all who have presumed to 
b 2 



4 



SERMON I. 



unfold it. It would be much to the happi- 
ness of mankind if they would humbly 
acquiesce in and profit by what they can 
know, rather than grasp at a substance 
which they have not the ability to reach : 
were there not pride in man, he would not 
search into the secret things (as Moses said) 
which belong only to the Lord our God. 

It is my design, from this positive in- 
junction of our Saviour, to vindicate the 
parts of that system of the Christian belief, 
the Creed, and to show r what is meant by 
the three divisions of it ; faith in the Fa- 
ther ; faith in the Son ; and faith in the 
Holy Ghost. 

The word Creed signifies a compendium 
of articles which are believed. Belief rests 
upon two foundations ; upon the testimony 
of God, and the testimony of man. The 
former is called divine; the latter human. 
Both these constitute the authority of the 
form to which we assent when we publicly 
profess ourselves members of the Christian 
Church. This Creed bears the name of the 



SERMON T. 



5 



Apostles ; not because it was a summary of 
faith drawn up by themselves, but because 
it is in full agreement with their teaching. 
The posture in which this is required to 
be repeated, is designed to exhibit the 
readiness and resolution of all who be- 
lieve to defend its doctrines ; and as sol- 
diers at a post, determined to maintain it 
with all their might. It is usually pro- 
nounced with the eye of the repeater to- 
wards the eastern part of the heavens. 
This hath been by many considered a mark 
of idle superstition. It should be remem- 
bered, however, that our Church, building 
itself upon ancient usage, hath retained 
many forms indifferent in their nature ; but 
yet such as may impress the mind with an 
awful feeling, derived from emblematical 
representation. As the rising sun dispels 
the mists and gloom of the clouded or dark 
atmosphere, when the night is to close and 
the new day begin ; so does knowledge 
when it beams upon the darkened mind, 
remove the veil of ignorance and error. 



6 



SERMON I. 



The custom therefore of turning the coun- 
tenance to the east when the Creed is re- 
hearsed, hath nothing more in view than 
to show a sense of divine communications 
rising upon the soul with the same radiance 
as the dawn of light and heat upon the ani- 
mal world. A practice having this only in 
its design cannot be called foolishly super- 
stitious, as it is both innocent in itself and 
conveys the idea of grateful humility. I 
shall now proceed to consider the divisions 
of the Creed. 

The first Article of Faith in the three 
Persons, as it most properly ought, is con- 
fined to what men are required and profess 
to believe concerning the existence and at- 
tributes of God. 

" J believe in God, the Father Almighty , 
Maker of Heaven and Earth." 

In this Article there is a profession of 
an inward persuasion, that there is a Being 
of a nature far removed from the imper- 
fections of man, and possessing in himself 
properties or attributes peculiar to his own 



SERMON I. 



7 



exalted nature, communicable to no other 
but himself ; that as he cannot be of the 
same condition as the human race, he is 
confined to no fixed spot of dwelling, nor 
to any parts of figure or body. 

This was the just opinion of men who, 
in times of the greatest science and refine- 
ment, during the unenlightened days of rea- 
son, formed their idea of the Supreme 
Being. They considered Him as totally 
free from bodily incumbrance or matter ; 
and, consisting of a sublime mind, uncon- 
fined by place or any circumscription of 
time. They pronounced Him as existing 
by an essence inherent in his own Person, 
for which no cause but that of necessity 
could be found ; and possessed of qualities, 
the refined principles of which they could 
not define ; but called it, from its pure and 
unmixed substance, — Spirit. 

It was their doctrine, that this Spirit per- 
vaded all things which presented themselves 
to their eye, whether they were seen in the 
vault of the regions above, or on the sur- 



8 



SERMON I. 



face of that lower dwelling in which they 
had their being. 

Having no sure light to guide their wan- 
dering imagination, they naturally con- 
ceived that this Spirit governed what they 
beheld ; — the sun, the moon, and the stars, 
the great luminaries which divided day and 
night ; the face also, and productions of the 
earth and sea ; — and as changes of time 
brought about fruitfulness or barrenness at 
particular periods, they justly supposed 
that the same Spirit was instrumental in 
causing the different seasons. 

When they turned their thoughts upon 
their own constitution, as consisting of 
powers to think, to utter, and to articulate 
sounds, which were denied to all other ani- 
mals ; and as composed of bodily parts, 
wonderfully fashioned in their use for pro- 
viding the means of life, and superior in 
upright form and beauty to the brute crea- 
tures, which bent towards the ground, and 
had no understanding ; they, not without 
cause, conjectured that there must have 



SERMON I. 9 



existed, from countless time, a Spirit — the 
Author and Preserver of all. 

Such was the imperfect, though reason- 
able notion, " that there was a superior 
and spiritual Being," deduced from the light 
of reason or nature alone. It was reserved 
for that period, when it should be the plea- 
sure of Him, who was thus darkly dis- 
covered by the reasoning of the wisest 
among men, to make himself clearly known 
by Revelation. This, like a ray of the sun, 
darted into a place of darkness, cast a new 
and reviving light ; this confirmed, indeed, 
what supposition had conjectured, but en- 
larged it into certainty. 

The Being, whom the world had learned 
to exist from the appearance of what was 
visible to the sight, at length was mani- 
fested under the name of God. This com- 
munication expressly established the doc- 
trine of his existence and providence ; of 
his perfect and spiritual nature ; of his 
having been from everlasting, both the 
Creator of the world itself, and of Man, 



10 



SERMON I 



who was placed in a part of it, to be its 
inhabitant, and tiller of the ground. With 
a firm assent to the existence of this in- 
comprehensible and perfect Being, the 
Creed of the Christian Church begins, " I 
believe in God." To the Person himself is 
added his Attributes, comprehended under 
the next term — " Father" 

The character here expressed naturally 
results from the general acknowledgment, 
" that there is a God ; " for to this convic- 
tion is necessarily attached the deduction, 
that He alone could bring all things which 
are seen in the heavens above, in the earth 
beneath, and in the waters under the earth, 
into being. 

To a Person, the author of all, we assign, 
as using the same term in earthly relation- 
ship, the name " Father" But, as with 
ourselves, the office of Father is two-fold, 
and implies preservation as well as crea- 
tion ; God is called Father, not only 
because he at first brought into existence, 
but because he governs and sustains what 



SERMON I. 



11 



he made ; because, whether the animate or 
inanimate parts of creation be viewed, he 
retains all his works in their fulness and 
glory. 

To the name of Father is subjoined 
" Almighty." This term can be considered 
by no one, who professes " to believe in 
God," as unnecessary ; for the divine 
Being, from whom the world proceeded, 
and is daily preserved, cannot but have a 
just title to the honour and praise of men 
for his omnipotence. It was this attribute 
which directed the progress of his work 
from the first command, " Let there be 
light," to the formation of Man. It was 
this, as Moses has described in the Book 
of Genesis, which " made the sun and the 
moon, and divided the day and the night ; " 
which " separated the waters from the 
waters, by a firmament/' called by him 
" Heaven ; " which " gathered the waters 
together unto one place, and caused the 
dry land to appear ; " which " commanded 
the earth to bring forth grass, herbs for 



12 



SERMON I. 



seed, and trees yielding fruit;" which 
ordered the waters to produce living 
creatures, and caused the fowls to fly under 
heaven ; " which said to the earth, " bring 
forth cattle and creeping things, and it was 
done which " made man after his own 
image, i. e. with a power of mind to have 
dominion over the fishes of the sea, the 
fowls of the air, and every creeping thing 
which moveth upon the earth/' As an il- 
lustration of this boundless power, and the 
strongest proof that could be given of the 
stupendous manner in which it hath been 
invariably exerted, the phrase follows, 
" Maker of Heaven and Earth." For, when 
the human mind brings to its consideration 
the immensity of the created world, taking 
into its thought the greater and more massy 
parts of the composition, as well as the 
smaller and more weak joints of the grand 
machine ; when it contemplates upon the 
perfection of the most minute portion ; the 
beauty which no art can presume to 
imitate ; the strength which no violence 



SE11M0N I. 



13 



can materially injure ; the durability which 
no time nor accident can, for a moment, 
bring to nothing or disorder; how can it 
but acknowledge the Fabric as raised by 
a hand of all power, and supported by an 
arm which nothing can weaken or over- 
come. The Heavens on high, with all 
their brightest glory, proclaim an Omnipo- 
tent Maker there ; and the earth, with all 
its productions, and man, its chief orna- 
ment, declares the handy-work of an 
Almighty Builder below. 

It would be a theme for description, 
exceeding all power of words, or the sug- 
gestions of imagination, were an attempt 
made to speak, even in general terms, of 
the Great Creator, the Lord of Heaven, 
Earth, and Sea, the Father of the Universe. 
As his rule itself is boundless, so would be 
the subject, if weak man should presume 
to comprehend, much more to tell circum- 
stantially of all which he hath done, and 
of all which he continues to do. The 
highest realms in the firmament re-echo all 



14 



SERMON I. 



praise, and the most remote corners among 
the dwellings of men resound to the glo- 
rious name, when mortals cry out, " Great 
is the Lord, and great is his power/' The 
very depths of the bottomless seas hear with 
rapture the hymn, that 66 he is worthy to be 
praised/' because, for his pleasure, they are 
and were created. Most of all, man, how- 
ever imperfect his voice may be, joins in 
the universal song ; and, as his grateful 
duty more strongly calls upon him, thanks 
his God, who formed him to think with his 
mind, to understand with his heart, and to 
speak with his tongue. In such a Being, 
whose dominion is over all things ; whose 
majesty exceeds all thought ; whose uni- 
versal influence is witnessed by the opera- 
tions of his creative hand ; whose protecting 
bounty is experienced by the display of a 
particular providence, unfeigned belief is 
professed by every Christian. This is, as 
it were, the introduction to all religion, 
and the great hinge, upon which the system 
turns, of true homage and worship. As a 



SERMON I. 



15 



building cannot stand without a strong 
foundation, but when the winds and tem- 
pests shall blow must fall, so pretensions to 
religion must be weak, and all assumption 
of moral rectitude pass away, unless there 
be in the bosom of every man a true con- 
fidence, " that there is a God," the Father 
of all, and of infinite power, such as was 
exemplified by Him in the first raising and 
harmonizing a world, from a mass without 
form, and in keeping it undiminished 
through a succession of numberless ages. 

The true Christian, in opposition to him 
who pretends that he disbelieves in any 
such cause of all things, who would rather 
subscribe to the absurd and unintelligible 
jargon of that sect, who presumed to say 
that the world, with all its symmetry of 
proportion, and compactness oi parts, 
arose out of nothing, and united in the 
present fashion from an accidental meeting 
together of indivisible substances, makes 
the following declaration as the criterion 
of His faith : 



16 



SERMON I. 



" I believe, i. e. / assent to the doctrine 
that there exists, and ever hath done, a 
Being of immeasurable greatness, of immen- 
sity in operation, of duration eternal, which 
is called God. 1 believe that this God is the 
everlasting Parent of a world, which he 
raised from a confused heap of indigested 
matter, and the supporter of its frame by 
his providential care. I believe that the 
authority he claims and displays is universal, 
uncontrollable, and never to be diminished. 
I believe that he has given the most imperious 
testimony of his unequalled might in the first 
creation, and in the continual governance of 
every part and every being under him, 
whether I cast my eye to the firmament of 
Heaven, the face of the Earth, or the waters 
of the Sea." 

It must have occurred, I conceive, to 
many in this congregation, that if the ex- 
planation here given be the true, a variety 
of duties must arise to believers, from a 
sense of their dependance upon so great 
and powerful a Father ; a Father who can 



SEEMON I. 



17 



command their service, but yet wins them 
to obedience and reverential fear by his 
goodness. It cannot but be my wish to 
encourage such feelings, and therefore I 
shall conclude this discourse by suggesting 
to you a mode of self-examination upon so 
important a subject. 

Are we creatures the inhabitants of an 
allotted space in the immense system of a 
world made by an Almighty Author ? Is 
he, from whom we draw our breath, whose 
hand wonderfully fashioned our bodies, 
whose constant presence defends us from 
the attacks of premature decay, a God of 
transcendent and unspeakable power ? Is 
his sovereignty over all things, and yet his 
benignant care exercised for the good of 
the very least thing which he hath made ? 
Is he in his own nature a Spirit, and, con- 
sequently, not confined within the gross- 
ness of that flesh which depresses the race 
of men? Did he display the mightiness 
of his hand by creating the sun and moon, 
with all the stars of light ? Did he send 

c 



18 



SERMON I, 



forth his commandment, and the earth 
become fruitful ? Did he say to the bil- 
lows of the sea when they raged, " Be still/' 
and they obeyed? Doth he continue to 
bless the works of his hands, and to pre- 
serve the regular course of things, accord- 
ing to their first appointment, by which 
we enjoy light and heat, refreshment in 
our bodies, and security from dangers ? 
Doth he raise joy in our hearts, arid bring 
peace to our souls ? If so, what do we 
owe to him in return for our creation, the 
blessing of preservation, and the honour of 
enjoying a place in his works ? If we 
believe him to be a pure and holy Spirit, 
it is incumbent upon us, in order to please 
him as far as shall be in our power, to be 
pure as he is pure. If we believe him to 
be all-powerful, it is our duty to think of, 
to speak of, and to act towards him with a 
humble fear. If we believe him to be all 
good, it must highly behove us to be thank- 
ful for his gifts. If he be all-wise, his dis- 
pensations are to be received with a lowly 



SERMON I. 



19 



sense of our own weakness. If he showed 
himself great, by giving a fashion and har- 
mony to a new world, and by infusing life 
into some, and qualities of various kinds 
into other parts, so that we behold a per- 
fect whole, magnificent, and above all 
thought and admiration, what do we owe ? 
— The tribute of admiration, and never- 
ceasing praise. 

Should we be backward in this homage, 
what must we be ? — Senseless, undeserving, 
and unthankful. 



WHAT IS REQUIRED OF THEM 

WHO PROFESS 

TO BELIEVE IN GOD THE SON, 

HIS SUFFERINGS, DEATH, 
AND BURIAL. 

ARTICLE II. 



A SERMON. 



SERMON II. 



1 John ii. 23. 

Whosoever denietk the Son, the same hath not the Father. 



Having made it my endeavour to set 
before you, in a plain manner, what the 
first article of the Creed enjoins as the 
principal subject of belief, I am naturally 
brought to the second, and shall explain to 
you, in as familiar a way as it will admit, 
the several parts of that faith which we 
are supposed to be possessed of, when we 
profess to believe in " Jesus Christ" and 
in " Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord." 

It should be understood, before any ex- 
position be given of the different and dis- 
tinct portions which compose this article, 
that the divine Person is represented by 
two names, expressive of two characters, 
Jesus, and Christ. 



24 



SEllMON II. 



The former is designed to hold him forth 
to our view as the Saviour of Man, the 
latter as the promised Messiah. The word 
Jesus is of Greek derivation, and taken 
from a verb expressing healing, or saving. 
These two terms are promiscuously used, 
even by our Saviour himself, as signifying 
the same thing. Thus, when he healed a 
woman, he told her, that her faith had 
saved her. As healing is the means of 
restoration to the body, so is saving the 
redemption of the soul. 

With the greatest propriety, therefore, 
did our Lord, as the Angel before his 
birth announced to Mary and the choir 
of the heavenly host when he was born 
proclaimed to the shepherds, bear this 
important name. The word Christ is also 
of Greek derivation, and signifies the 
Anointed. It was the custom, among the 
Eastern people, to consecrate, by pouring 
oil upon the head of the distinguished per- 
sons who were to be set apart for the high 
offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. Our 



SERMON II. 



25 



blessed Saviour, in the course of his minis- 
try, was, by an extraordinary appointment, 
to appear in all these characters, and 
therefore was called Christ, or the Anointed. 
He did not receive, indeed, a formal 
anointing with oil, as Saul and David, 
from men ; but he was authorized by a 
more special commission, represented 
under the same figure as his Baptism, when 
the Holy Spirit, causing the same waving 
motion in the air, as if it were visible, 
might be compared to the fluttering of a 
dove, with its clapping wings, alighted 
upon his head. The word Messiah, in the 
Hebrew, contains the same meaning. 

The names Jesus, and Christ, being thus 
explained, I go on to the particulars of his 
wonderful character—" His only Son, our 
Lord." 

Mankind, in general, from the nature of 
their creation, and as fashioned by one 
Almighty God, the Father, are to be called 
his sons. But, in order to distinguish 
Jesus Christ from the common race of 



26 



SERMON II. 



men, he is emphatically styled God's only 
Son. It is to be collected from this signi- 
ficant title, that he is not upon the level of 
mortals ; and as having existed with his 
Father, consisting of bodily parts (these he 
afterwards assumed, that he might suffer 
for man in the same flesh), but partaking 
of that pure Spirit, and sharing in that 
divine and eternal essence, which cannot be 
communicated to any earthly creature. 
Thus God is represented, in the book of 
Psalms, saying, " Thou art my Son, this 
day have I begotten thee/' At his Bap- 
tism our Lord received this testimony to 
his superior character : " This is my be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" 
and, at his transfiguration, " This is my 
beloved Son, hear him \" Jesus also him- 
self claims the same title : " The Father 
hath given all things to the Son" The 
doctrine might be supported with refer- 
ences of this kind without end. What has 
been adduced already may suffice to show 
that Jesus is to be acknowledged as the 



SERMON II. 



27 



Son of God, with the additional title only, 
because he alone, as the Nicene Creed 
more diffusely interprets it, is " God of 
God , Light of Light, very God of very God; 
begotten, i.e. by spiritual generation ; re- 
lated, not made, i. e. not as man created 
through another, but being of the same 
substance with the Father/' 

To this character of the only Son is sub- 
joined " our Lord. 3 ' This expression, 
Lord, is inserted in the Creed to denote 
" dominion." He who bears authority 
over dependants, and has a right to com- 
mand service, is properly honoured with 
the address, " Master!' His power includes 
his protection, and supposes homage or 
respect due to him in return for his sove- 
reignty. Thus men who are baptized into 
the faith of Christ are to him in the light 
of servants, and his rule exercised upon 
them is that of a master. He teaches, he 
directs, he comforts, and is therefore rightly 
called Lord; and we, who are enlisted as 
soldiers under him, for our guidance and 



28 



SERMON II. 



defence, acknowledging no other superior 
in the same degree of authority towards us, 
naturally denominate him, by way of 
eminence and peculiarity, our, or the Lord 
of Christians. 

Having thus professed our belief in 
Jesus Christ, as more particularly marking 
his divine nature and relationship with God 
the Father, and the sovereign kingdom he 
maintains over the Christian Church, we 
proceed, in the Article of the Creed, to 
specify the particulars of our faith in his 
human nature, " who was conceived by the 
Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary" 

The incomprehensible generation of our 
Lord, through the operation of the Spirit, 
is a mystery, or a truth wrapped up in 
inexplicable darkness, not to be discovered 
or demonstrated by the intellectual powers 
hitherto communicated to the sons of men. 

As it was indispensable that he should 
consist of two natures, of God and of man, 
without which the redemption of the world 
could not, consistently with God's justice, 



SERMON II. 



29 



as well as his mercy, have been wrought, 
we, in our system of faith, embrace both 
the characters, and believe him to be God, 
as conceived by the Holy Ghost, and to be 
man, as born of a woman. As to the 
former, since it is hid from our sight, and 
the more it is presumptuously inquired 
into becomes the more undefmable, we can 
go no further than what is spoken to this 
effect by an inspired Prophet or Messenger 
from Heaven. 

Isaiah, foretelling the birth of Christ, 
calls him by an especial name, "Immanuel." 
The interpretation of this word is " God 
with us" i. e. God came down in the 
fashion of man. 

When the angel Gabriel communicated 
the tidings to his mother, that she should 
bear a son ; he told her " that the power of 
the Highest should overshadow her ! and 
that the holy thing which should be born 
of her should be called the Son of 
God." 

When Joseph, afterwards, not knowing 



30 



SERMON II. 



how to account for his espoused wife thus 
bearing a son, had thoughts of putting her 
from him, he was admonished by an angel 
in a dream, saying, " Joseph, fear not to 
take unto thee thy wife ; for that w T hich is 
conceived by her is of the Holy Ghost I" 

The prophet Isaiah and the Gospel of 
St. Matthew thus attest what we cannot 
comprehend. 

Not so involved in difficulty is the his- 
torical account " that he was born of a 
woman/' This creates no doubts, as the 
ordinary occurrences of the same kind in 
the world make it no question. The only 
inexplicable circumstance is the character 
of his mother — a virgin. All that can be in- 
sisted upon here is, that she who was deli- 
vered of a son was in this respect answerable 
to what was written of her. Gabriel was 
despatched from Heaven to a person of this 
description, foretelling that she was highly 
favoured and should be a mother. The 
prophet Isaiah breaks out, " Behold, a 
virgin shall conceive ! ? and Jeremiah also 



SERMON II. 



31 



foretels the same event, but by a more ob- 
scure form of expression. 

To the name Virgin is added Mary. It 
was long foretold that when the Messiah 
should come upon the earth he should arise 
from the family of David, and that God 
would give to him the throne of his fore- 
father David. 

St. Matthew, in order to show the truth 
of this prediction, and that Jesus was de- 
scended lineally from the stock of David, 
deduces the genealogy of his mother from 
that king, through a succession of fathers 
to the times of Mary, and concludes the 
whole with this assertion, " of whom was 
born Jesus, who was called Christ/' The 
name Mary is therefore designed to fix the 
certainty of our Lord's parentage. What 
hath been already remarked is sufficient to 
prove to you, that in the most minute par- 
ticulars, even of his very birth, there is a 
precise agreement with prophecy and event. 
You can desire no greater argument for 
the continuance of your faith. 



32 



kSERMON II. 



We come now to the serious exemplifica- 
tion of our Saviours human nature, " our 
belief in the means of man's redemption 
— His sufferings." 

" He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
crucified , dead, and buried/' 

That Christ underwent " suffering " re- 
quires no difficulty to show. The reader 
of his life, from the description he gives of 
himself, " that he had no place to lay his 
head/' to the particular scenes of his agony 
in the garden ; contempt and insult of the 
deriding crowds ; condemnation before the 
tribunal of an unjust judge ; the tortures 
of a scourge ; the wearing of a crown of 
thorns ; the striking of the soldiers ; the 
mockery paid as to a king in a purple 
robe ; the transfixing his feet with nails to 
a cross, (the torture of which drew from 
him these desponding words, " My God ! 
my God ! why hast thou forsaken me ?) and 
last of all, when his painful dissolution ap- 
proaching, he cried, " I thirst," and said 
" It is finished !" bowing his head, and 



SERMON IT. 



33 



giving up the ghost. From all these taken 
together, I say the reader abundantly learns 
that Christ suffered. All that the prophet 
Isaiah described, in his giving " his back 
to the smiters;" in his exclamation, " I am 
brokpn in heart "I am full of heaviness 
" I looked for some to have pity on me f 
or (as the Psalmist cries) " They gave me 
gall to eat, and when I was thirsty they 
gave me vinegar to drink " was literally 
fulfilled in his suffering person. 

" He suffered under Pontius Pilate!' 

This name is introduced into the Creed 
as a proof that our Lord not only suffered, 
but that this took place at the time ap- 
pointed. When Jacob was at the point of 
death, and his mind was opened to show 
what would happen to his posterity, he 
foretold to Judah, that his descendants 
should be a people until he, " who was to 
be sent/' should appear. "The sceptre 
shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh shall 
come/' 

The tribe of Judah constituted the 

D 



SERMON II. 



people called Jews. Their political cha- 
racter had ceased, in great measure, before 
our Lord began his ministry, for they were 
tributary to the Romans ; and after he left 
the world they were totally destroyed ; Je- 
rusalem was taken, and the inhabitants 
were dispersed throughout the world. 

Daniel, in his Prophecies, foretold that 
seventy weeks of years should pass from the 
period of his writing, and the " Messiah 
should be cut off." This exact space of 
time was nearly completed, according to 
the common computation, by multiplying 
the number of years by the days of a week, 
and at the end of almost five hundred years 
after the prediction our Lord was crucified. 

At the aera of Christ's death the Jews 
acknowledged, as they publicly shouted, 
" no king but Caesar;" their province was 
administered by a governor ; and he was 
Pontius Pilate. The name then shows that 
our Lord, as pre-signified, died when the 
Jews were no more a people. 

f Crucified." This word, following the 



SERMON II. 



35 



former, which determines the time, indi- 
cates the manner of Christ's death. 

The punishment of crucifixion, most pain- 
ful and ignominious, was inflicted by the 
Romans on their slaves. This was not a 
mode of torture in use among the Jews. 
If, therefore, our Lord was crucified, it was 
in consequence of the superior Roman 
power. But Isaac, the type of Christ, car- 
ried the wood on his own shoulder when his 
father took him to Mount Moriah for sacri- 
fice. There was no capital punishment 
among the Romans at which the malefac- 
tors bore the instrument of death but cru- 
cifixion; our Lord for a short time was 
loaded with a beam of his cross, and in that 
was the anti-type of Isaac. He here, again, 
minutely confirmed what was in figure re- 
presented concerning him. 

David also cried out, in his prophetic 
way of speech, " They pierced my hands 
and my feet ; they stand staring and look- 
ing upon me ; all they that see me laugh 
me to scorn/' The word crucified implies 

d 2 



36 



SERMON II. 



all this as literally undergone, according to 
prediction, by Jesus Christ. 

" Dead" This additional expression is 
the greatest importance to all the true be- 
lievers in their Redeemer. For he might 
have suffered all his agony and cruel treat - 
ment of his enemies, and yet not have ful- 
filled the design of his coming. 

Crucifixion, with all its pangs, was not 
necessarily attended with death. But Jesus 
" was to be put to death " for by his obedi- 
ence to death only was the world to be 
saved. That no doubt, therefore, might 
remain of the certainty " that we were 
redeemed/' it is made a part of our faith, 
" that he was dead/' 

But it was contrary to the Jewish law 
that the bodies of executed criminals should 
remain upon the place of punishment ; and 
it was pre-figured, as applied by our Lord 
to himself, by Jonah's remaining three days 
in the fish, that he should be consigned for 
the same space of time to the heart of the 
earth. 



SERMON II. 



37 



In this transaction is clearly traced the 
hand of God. An honourable and rich 
counsellor interfered upon the expiring of 
our Lord upon the cross to secure his body. 
Joseph of Arimathea prepared a receptacle 
for the corpse in his own garden ; and hav- 
ing, according to the custom of the times, 
with the assistance of other friends, covered 
it in haste with spices, wrapped it in fine 
linen, and laid it in a new tomb. By this 
act a prophecy in Isaiah was fulfilled, 
" though our Lord made his grave with the 
wicked (as with the two thieves), he was 
with the rich in his death." I shall for the 
present stop at this part of the Article, and 
sum up what ye profess to believe, as far as 
has been already considered, when ye avow 
your faith in Jesus Christ. 

46 1 give full assent to what I have been 
taught, that there was such a divine person, 
who came from Heaven, called Jesus Christ; 
— that, as his name Jesus implies, he was the 
Saviour ; as his name Christ implies, was the 
anointed or appointed Saviour ; that he was 



38 



SERMON II. 



not as men, merely a creature of God, but, 
partaking of his spiritual essence and na- 
ture, which no one besides him can claim, 
' Gods only Son! I believe that when he 
came into the world it was from a mysterious 
influence of the Holy Ghost; and that he 
was born with all the properties of a man, 
of a woman (Mary), a descendant, as was re- 
quired, of David. 1 believe that he accom- 
plished all that was written of a suffering 
Mediator, particularly in the last scenes of 
his life, in his agony, derision, and death. 
I believe that he suffered in the state of the 
world foretold, and by the manner foreshown. 
I believe that he then died, and by his blood 
ivashed away the sinful stain of maris 
nature. 

" Lastly, I believe that his body, when 
proved and acknowledged by his enemies 6 to 
be dead,' was committed as for burial to a 
grave!' 



THE 

BELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST, 
€l)e £on of <*Sot>* 

HIS DESCENT INTO HELL, 

AND 

RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. 
ARTICLE HI. 



A SERMON. 



SERMON III. 



Acts ii. 31, 32. 

He seeing this before, spake of the Resurrection of Christ, 

" that his soul was not left in Hell" 
This Jesus hath God raised up. 



These words are part of St. Peter's first 
sermon, when the Holy Ghost had given to 
him the extraordinary power of utterance, 
upon the day of Pentecost. Full of the 
Spirit, he had the boldness to rebuke the 
Jews " for crucifying the Lord of Life," 
and gave the strongest attestation to the 
truth of his high character, by showing the 
intended application of his Death and Re- 
surrection to the prophecy of David. The 
words of the text are a part of this argu- 
ment, and are proper for my purpose in 
explaining other articles of the Apostles' 
Creed ; 

" lie descended into Hell, and rose again 
the third day from the dead." 



42 



SERMON III. 



The first of these articles, " He de- 
scended into Hell," from the difficulty of 
ascertaining the precise construction of 
the words themselves, has been a subject, 
from the earliest times, of much dispu- 
tation. 

As I have ever considered them, they 
have a very simple meaning ; and as such, 
when I have laid before you the interpre- 
tations of men, in former times, shall en- 
deavour, by explanation, to make them 
equally satisfactory to your own compre- 
hension. 

The word translated Hell, is borrowed 
from Greek derivation, and is used by all 
writers, whether in prose or verse, to sig- 
nify the invisible state, appointed for the 
souls of men after their death. The origi- 
nal word itself signifies, the Land of Dark- 
ness, or the Land of Forgetfulness ; in the 
same way as the Psalmist speaks " of the 
valley of the shadow of death." " In death 
no man remembereth thee/' To these re- 
gions the unenlightened sons of men as- 



SERMON III. 



43 



signed the seat of punishment and of bliss 
(of Tartarus and Elysium) ; and believed 
that souls were tormented or made happy 
there, when they were set free from the 
bondage of the body. To such an abode 
the soul of the blessed Jesus could not pass, 
" for he had done no sin ; nor had guile 
been found in his mouth nor, if these 
dreary realms were the residence of the 
fallen angels, and the dwelling of Satan, 
could it, as many have supposed, have 
been the place to which the soul of Christ 
went down, that he might obtain a triumph 
over their king and them, in the dominions 
of despair. All this had been done when 
our Lord died : Hell, as the receptacle of 
misery, was closed up, when he expired 
upon the cross. The Romanists held a 
strange opinion, among others equally 
unwarrantable, ' 6 that the soul of Jesus de- 
scended into the lower parts of the earth, 
or Hell/' that he might open the doors of 
a prison, where the souls of all good men 
were confined, who had existed upon earth 



44 



SERMON III. 



before the time of his coming. There is 
no authority in Scripture for such doctrine, 
and therefore we, of the Reformed Church, 
reject it as one of the whimsical maxims 
of fallible men. 

What St. Peter says of our Lord's 
" preaching to the spirits in prison/' is made 
the foundation of this pretended truth ; but 
the passage there, if rightly considered, has 
no such meaning ; it evidently alludes to 
the power of the Holy Spirit conferred 
upon man, as the reward of our Lord's 
death and sufferings, by which they, who 
from the earliest days had been dead in sin, 
were quickened or made alive, and their 
minds, as it were in prison or captivity be- 
fore, were set at large and rendered free. 
These different opinions of the word " Hell," 
being thus refuted, I shall now add, what 
I humbly conceive, and have always thought 
to be, the true and simple interpretation. 
Our blessed Lord, for our redemption, had 
taken upon him human flesh, and into that 
body, as it is found in every common man, 



SERMON III. 



45 



God was pleased to breathe a living soul. 
When he had performed all which was 
written of him, by suffering on the cross, 
he expired, or gave up the ghost. Our 
religion teaches us, and melancholy ex- 
ample confirms it, that, when disease or 
any other cause shall expel the vital prin- 
ciple from the breast, as a consequence of 
the sad separation, the body ceases to move, 
or is dead. Its former habitation being 
now no longer fit for its late guest, whither 
does it go ? It is the language of reason 
which tells us, " to a dwelling appointed 
by God for its reception (for it can never 
die) till, at his command, it shall hereafter 
be re-united to its former abode, or place 
of possession/' And this I fully believe to 
be the only meaning of this article in the 
Creed. Our Lord had died as man ; his 
ghost, or life, had been breathed out from 
his body in the same manner as it quits its 
hold in any other man when death shall 
come. It is, therefore, by parity of reason- 
ing, to be believed that his soul was sepa- 



46 SERMON III. 

rated from his body as it would be in any 
man, and that it remained in the state of 
disunion in the ordinary way of man, till 
it was recalled at the day of his Resur- 
rection. 

The word descended, is here inserted in 
allusion to the vulgar conception, " that 
even in infinite space there is a fixed point 
above our head and a point beneath our 
feet. That upon any occasion we rise up- 
wards to the Heavens, or sink downwards 
to the bottom of the earth." It simply sig- 
nifies, he departed. 

The summary of this Article thus ex- 
plained is this : — 

" 1 believe that when our Lord expired 
upon the cross, and his body being taken down 
was laid in the sepulchre, his spirit or soul 
was separated from it, and that it continued 
in that state among other departed souls till 
the hour came, when it was replaced in its 
former mansion at his Resurrection." 

2. The Resurrection, as the next Article 



SERMON III. 



47 



which the Creed brings under consider- 
ation, affords matter of the highest im- 
portance, and of the greatest consolation, 
for the belief of man. 

" The third day He rose again from the 
dead!" 

The return of our Lord to life is the 
great foundation of a Christian's faith. It 
is the bulwark of our religion ; it is the 
immoveable pillar upon which our trust in 
the certainty of his divine mission rests ; and 
consequently the hope cherished by man- 
kind, of a blessed immortality, alone de- 
pends ; for, had not this event taken place 
at the time, and in the manner promised, 
our preaching in the name of Jesus Christ 
would all be vain. 

For the strengthening of your belief, 
and creating an unqualified assent to the 
contents of this Article, I shall endeavour 
to lay before you all the evidence which 
can be required, for the assurance that 
when ye profess your persuasion " that our 



48 



SERMON III, 



blessed Saviour returned to life/' ye are 
convinced of an undeniable and uncontro- 
vertible truth. 

Jesus in the course of his ministry, upon 
many occasions, referred to the prospect 
of his Death ; but at all times subjoined 
his Resurrection. Upon one occasion he 
said, " the Son of Man (so describing him- 
self) must suffer many things, and be put 
to death ; but on the third day shall rise 
again/' Upon another, when the Phari- 
sees were asking him by what authority he 
was doing such marvellous things ? he an- 
swered them, " Destroy this temple (mean- 
ing his own body), and in three days I will 
raise it up ! " 

Had our Saviour pretended to a power 
which he did not possess f had he pre- 
sumed to foretel an event which did not 
afterwards happen ; had he made his " ris- 
ing again'' the test of his really coming 
down upon the earth from God, and that 
had not been fulfilled, what would have fol- 
lowed ? He would have been convicted by 



SERMON III. 



his own words of the grossest imposture ; 
and all the credit bestowed upon his solemn 
declarations must have been a delusion. 

Thanks let us all return, with daily and 
fervent praise, to the Almighty Father, 
" that his Son was a partaker of his own 
nature, and that all he promised, and led 
believers in him to expect, was true. — " He 
rose again the third day from the dead!' 

Before I proceed to lay the particular 
circumstances of his Resurrection before 
you, and point out the irrefragable support 
the fact obtains from uncorrupt and con- 
current testimony, I shall show how neces- 
sary it was that it should take place for the 
completion of figure and of prophecy. 

1. The chief figure to which Jesus him- 
self was pleased to refer for the expediency 
of his Resurrection, was the wonderful man- 
ner in which Jonah had lain in the body 
of the whale, and on the third day was cast 
alive again upon the shore. The extra- 
ordinary event of the Prophet's preser- 
vation was made use of by Jesus to exem- 

E 



50 



SERMON III. 



plify what should happen to himself. Had, 
therefore, "his rising again from the grave" 
not corresponded with the manner fore- 
shown, and the exact order of time pre- 
dicted, he must, by his own reference, have 
proved himself a deceiver. As Jonah was 
"three days and three nights in the whale/' 
so did Christ continue for the same space 
of time in the heart of the earth. 

2. The chief prophecy which foretold the 
certainty of our Lord's Resurrection was, 
that of David in the sixteenth Psalm. " My 
heart," says he, " was glad, and my glory 
rejoiced ; my flesh also shall rest in hope ; 
because thou shalt not leave my soul in 
Hell, neither shalt thou suffer thy Holy One 
to see corruption." St. Peter, in his first 
sermon, after the descent of the Holy Ghost, 
expressly applies the words of the royal 
Prophet to Christ. He tells the Jews that 
the Patriarch, seeing in his mind the Resur- 
rection of Christ, spake of His soul as not 
to be left in Hell, i. e. as I have above ex- 
plained to you in the grave, and that His 



SERMON IN. 



51 



flesh should not see corruption. It was, 
therefore, an indispensable miracle to be 
performed by Jesus that, as prefigured and 
foretold, he should be alive again. 

3. I shall now make it my business to 
show, by incontestable proofs, that the event 
did actually happen, " He rose again." — 
The body of Jesus was removed from the 
cross, in the presence of many beholders, 
and conveyed by a rich man, for the forms 
of burial, to his own garden. 

As the Sabbath was at hand, upon which 
no work could be done, the usual ceremo- 
nies of embalming were postponed. The 
sepulchre was new, hewn, as the Jewish 
custom was, out of rock, and therefore 
could have but one entrance. The ene- 
mies of Christ remembering what he had 
said, " that he should rise himself up again/' 
and fearful, lest his disciples should by 
night carry off the corpse, and so forge a 
Resurrection, applied to the governor for 
his assistance. A stone had been rolled by 
the disciples to the mouth of the tomb for 
e 2 



52 



SERMON III. 



security. At the request of the priests, 
Pilate made this safe from the possibility 
of a removal, by stamping the seal of his 
authority upon it. He also, at their desire, 
stationed a band of Roman soldiers before 
it, to prevent any attempt which might be 
made to force a passage into the sepulchre. 
But the words " of Jesus did stand." His 
disciples could not have dared, had they 
been so inclined, to undertake the imprac- 
ticable work, for there was no way of enter- 
ing but one, and this was covered by a 
huge stone at the mouth : this was also 
sealed, and a guard of armed men stood 
before it. So far, indeed (though the Jews 
spread the story), were the followers of 
Christ from desiring to bear the body away, 
that, when the Sabbath was past, they came 
at dawn of day, and brought a mixture of 
spices to embalm it. 

There could not exist the shadow of im- 
position here. While the pious women, 
who had been the melancholy spectators 
of all which had happened, were on their 



SERMON III. 



53 



way for the sacred office, they were, on a 
sudden, surprised by a violent concussion 
of the air, resembling that of an earth- 
quake. " The soldiers were astonished 
and fell to the ground/' The women, 
having doubted with themselves how it 
would be possible to remove the stone 
from the cave, approached, and, to their 
consternation, saw that " it was opened ; " 
for it was at that time that Jesus had come 
forth. 

When they arrived they looked in, saw 
the grave-clothes lying, and the napkin 
which had been folded round their Master s 
head. Affrighted, they hastened from the 
place, and, as they were informed by An- 
gels, who told them, " that the Lord was 
risen," were impatient to inform the other 
disciples of what had come to pass. Peter, 
the most earnest, and John, the beloved, 
were surprised at the news ; and, showing 
by their haste that they had not carried the 
body from its concealment, ran with an 
eager haste to be witnesses of what had 



54 



SERMON III. 



been told them. They found the tomb 
opened, the clothes lying, but no body ; 
and returned home again in confusion. It 
was reserved for Mary Magdalene, after she 
had complained " that the Jews had taken 
the Lord away/' not only to see the two 
Angels in shining garments sitting, one at 
the head, and the other at the foot, where 
J esus had lain, but to be the first to behold 
the Saviour himself. For, as she was weep- 
ing, and, as she supposed, was asked by 
the keeper of the garden, 66 why she so 
bewailed?" Jesus, in his usual tone of voice, 
spake, and made himself known to her. 
Dispensing at that time with the ho- 
mage which she naturally offered to pay 
him, he despatched her to the disciples 
with the news, " that she had seen the 
Lord." 

After the death of Jesus, his friends, for 
privacy, had been accustomed to assemble 
themselves together in an upper room, and 
to shut the door. He, in the evening, by 



SERMON III, 



55 



an invisible power opening the bars, ap- 
peared, on a sudden, in the midst of them. 
He then, as for an outward sign, breathed 
upon them, and formally appointed them 
to be teachers of his Gospel. 

It appeared that one of them, Thomas, 
was not present when Jesus came into the 
company. This Apostle was, for a time, 
wonderfully obstinate in his belief ; that so, 
by his doubts, he might afterwards give a 
fuller testimony to the truth, " that Jesus 
was not only risen, but that he rose in the 
same body." For, when Jesus appeared 
again, he challenged Thomas to make a 
full trial of what he was so determined to 
know. He touched him, put his fingers 
into the print of the nails, thrust his hand 
into his side, and then exclaimed, " Thou 
art my Lord and my God ! " 

Jesus was pleased to make himself 
known also at Emmaus, when the two dis- 
ciples, who had walked with him to the 
village, ate bread in his company, and 



56 



SERMON III. 



their eyes were opened. According to 
appointment, he met all his disciples in 
Galilee, at which time, in order to show 
that, after death, his two natures were re- 
united in him, he worked a miracle in 
the draught of fishes. St. Paul mentions 
his being seen by above "jive hundred''' 
brethren at once. 

But the article says, " that our Lord not 
only rose from the dead, but on the third 
day." It is proper for me to mention to 
you, that the word made use of by the 
Evangelist to express the intermediate 
space between our Lord's Death and Re- 
surrection, comprehends both the day and 
the night, and was in ordinary signification 
in the days the Gospel was written. Had 
it not been so, he could not have remained 
in the grave for the time specified. 

He was crucified, and died at the time 
of offering the evening sacrifice, on the last 
day of the week. This, according to the 
usual mode of reckoning, was one day ; 



SEKMON III. 



57 



the Sabbath, the first day of the week 
(during the whole of which he lay in the 
grave), was the second; the morning fol- 
lowing the Sabbath, though not a whole 
day, but part only, was the third. 

And thus literally was fulfilled, in the 
most complete manner, all that was to be 
done in the Resurrection of Jesus. 

" He rose again the third day from the 
dead/' A summary of the contents of this 
article is this : J believe that, as our Lord 
foretold, he broke the bands of death, and 
appeared again alive upon the earth. I be- 
lieve that when he rose he was perfect man 
and perfect God, consisting again of his two 
natures; for he suffered himself to be 
touched, ate in the presence of his disciples, 
and wrought a wonder, to show his power. 
I believe that he rose in the manner fore- 
shown, and in the Person foretold. I believe 
that his Resurrection came to pass at the 
very precise time it was appointed ; and, 
lastly, that by the many appearances he, on 



58 



SERMON III. 



different occasions, made to his followers, he 
ivas the same Jesus ; and that all the reports 
which were raised by the Chief Priests to 
destroy the belief, " that he, as he declared 
it should be, did rise again, were false." 



THE 

BELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST, 
€fje d&on of <25oU* 

HIS ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN, SITTING AT 
THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 

AND 

RETURN TO JUDGE THE WORLD, 
ARTICLE IV. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON IV 



Acts i. 11. 

Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven f 
This same Jesys, who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall 
so come, in like manner, as ye have seen him go into Heaven. 



Our Lord, having discharged every 
part of his assigned ministry, appointed 
confidential friends to preach his Gospel, 
and promised the assistance of the Holy 
Spirit for the performance of their future 
labours ; there continued no necessity for 
his remaining upon the earth ; and, there- 
fore, he returned, as it was by Elijah's 
ascent foreshown, and foretold by David 
concerning him, to his Father. 

That this wonderful event might take 
place in the presence of his chosen follow- 
ers, he directed them to meet him on a 
mountain in Galilee. 

When he had come to them, and given 



62 



SERMON IV. 



charge " that they should not depart from 
Jerusalem, but wait for the Holy Spirit, 
their Comforter/' a cloud, while he 
stretched out his hands, and was blessing 
them, carried him up on high. 

The disciples, as was most natural, fol- 
lowed him with their eyes, as he was going, 
and for some time lifted their heads up- 
wards to the air, expecting that he would 
come down again, till he was removed out 
of their sight. 

While they were fixed in this attitude of 
surprise and doubtful expectation, two 
messengers from Heaven appeared, and 
accosted them in the words of the text : — 
" Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing 
up into Heaven P This same Jesus, who is 
taken up from you into Heaven, shall so 
come, in like manner, as ye have seen him 
go into Heaven." In this declaration suffi- 
cient matter is contained for the explana- 
tion of other articles in the Creed : " He 
ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the 
right hand of God the Father Almighty ; 



SERMON IV. 



63 



from thence he shall come to judge the quick 
and the dead" 

The Ascension of Christ is so important 
and comfortable an article of Faith, that it 
is found in every Creed in every Church. It 
is so well attested, that there is no dispute 
but that it really took place, and in such a 
manner as displayed wisdom in the counsel 
of God; and with such an assurance also, 
as promised all good to man. 

1. The persons who were assembled to be 
the witnesses of our Lord's Ascension, did 
not consist of a great crowd of men, who, 
from their number, might have had an 
indistinct view of the scene itself, or been 
unacquainted, as strangers, with the form 
and countenance of him who was, in so 
marvellous a way, lifted up in the rising 
cloud. Had many been present, and some 
of them been really known to the Saviour, 
through the introduction of his miraculous 
cures before his death, it could not be 
supposed that, from a situation not suffici- 
ently near, as he was placed upon an 



64 



SERMON IV. 



eminence, and a hill, they could have had 
it in their power to discern whether he 
was the identical Jesus, consisting of a real 
body, much more of the same body, as 
they had been accustomed to look upon 
before the change of his late dissolution. 
Had the spectators been convinced, beyond 
all doubt, " that the figure did in truth 
consist of flesh and blood/' and that it re- 
presented no other than Christ himself, yet, 
as most of them were strongly prejudiced 
in favour of the Jewish law, and disap- 
pointed in their expectations of a Messiah, 
they might have represented what they saw 
in no true light, but joined with the Chief 
Priests and Rulers, in decrying a delusion. 
Happy, happy, therefore, in its conse- 
quences, as well as truly characteristical of 
Divine Wisdom was it, that the return of 
our Lord to his Father was visible to his 
faithful friends alone ; and confined to the 
sight of men, who were to be the defenders 
of the truth, and to maintain the reality of 
their Master's departure, against the cun- 



SERMON IV. 



65 



ning and malice of all his adversaries. They, 
though few in number, were furnished with 
a power of giving a ready answer to any 
gainsayer, who might positively argue 
against the possibility of the Ascension, or 
attempt to ridicule so groundless a suppo- 
sition. They had been the companions of 
Jesus through the whole course of his mi- 
nistry ; they had been admitted to a sight of 
the marvellous cures which he had wrought ; 
had heard his doctrines, and been partakers 
of his domestic life, food, and habitation. 
They, therefore, could not, at any time, 
mistake his person. These same men had 
also received from him every testimony they 
could require, after his Resurrection, that he 
was a man ; and, by the positive demand of 
one among them, that he was the same man, 
when he was raised from the dead, as they 
had the familiar intercourse with, of society 
and friendship, before his Crucifixion. It was 
impossible that greater fitness could exist 
in any transaction than this. Good indeed 
was God to the Christian world, in per- 

F 



66 



SERMbN IV. 



mitting them alone to witness his Son's 
ascent to glory, who had been with him 
before and after death, and could not be 
deceived in what they were admitted to see. 
From them we all learn, not only that 
Jesus went to Heaven, but that he went in 
human form, having thereby an assurance, 
that after his example, we, of the same 
nature and bodily parts, are capable of 
translation from earth to the mansions of 
Heaven. If, however, the remarks already 
made be thought insufficient for supporting 
this Article of Faith, and an appeal be 
made to objectors from them, as fallible 
men, the words of the text may soon be 
brought and referred to, as completely esta- 
blishing the doctrine. 

The Almighty (all thanks be given to 
his merciful care !) was pleased to put the 
arguments drawn from the incompetency of 
these witnesses entirely aside, by sending 
his angels with a full power to proclaim 
the departure of his Son from the regions 
of the earth to the realms above. Through 



SERMON IV. 



67 



them he informed the disciples, that their 
gazing in the air was not indeed without a 
cause, but that it would be of no effect, as 
the object of their solicitude was taken up, 
and would not be found again by them, 
before a very distant period of future time 
should come. These messengers, in their 
questions, carry the appearances of expos- 
tulated with them for a want of faith. 
They seem to cast a tacit reflection upon 
them, that they distrusted their own sight, 
and seemed, by their stay, silence, and 
posture, to doubt the reality of the mar- 
vellous scene which had passed in their 
view. 

" Ye men of Galilee," said they, " why 
stand ye gazing up into Heaven P Jesus is 
taken from you." In these words is a full 
declaration by God himself through his 
servants, who carried his instructions, 
" that Jesus Christ, our Lord, did actually, 
as he appeared to his disciples, go up to the 
kingdom of glory, there to reign with his 
Almighty Father, till all eternity shall end. 

f 2 



68 SERMON IV. 

2. The former part of the Article 
being thus explained, I proceed to the lat- 
ter ; and shall lay before you what is im- 
plied in these words, "that, after his Ascen- 
sion, Jesus sat down at the right hand of 
God." 

In order to assist men in forming a right, 
though imperfect, conception of heavenly 
things, imagery is often borrowed from the 
earthly ; and they are by comparison led to 
make some inadequate, though, in a degree, 
satisfactory judgment upon such sublime 
truths, as, in their present condition of in- 
tellect, they have not the ability to compre- 
hend. Thus, in speaking of honour con- 
ferred upon our Redeemer, when, as the 
Psalmist says, " he had drank of the brook 
in the way," and, without spot of sin, hav- 
ing atoned for sin by a painful and dis - 
graceful punishment, he was raised from 
the Earth below, to Heaven above, we use 
a practice among the Eastern nations, to 
distinguish him, as seated nearest to his 
Father. 



SERMON IV. 



69 



It was the custom of princes of the East, 
when they were desirous to promote a faith- 
ful servant to the pinnacle of the chief dis- 
tinction, to place him on their right hand. 
This was the most splendid mark of their 
favour, and considered as the greatest re- 
compense for any toil, exploit, or danger. 
God, as a spirit, cannot consist of bodily 
parts, nor be brought to the inferior cha- 
racter of visible shape of limbs ; he is, 
however, described, in this Article, as com- 
posed of hands, because the idea is best 
suited to the narrowness of our understand- 
ing. Thus our Saviour promises to the 
blessed, that they shall sit on thrones, as his 
Father is seated on his throne. The true 
meaning of this part in the Article is this, 
" that (as the Apostle says) our Lord was 
exalted far above all principalities and 
powers," and might and names, which are 
or can be in the whole world of creation. 
Rewards for obedience, exceeding all con- 
ception of man, were placed upon the 
Redeemer's head, when he rode triumph- 



70 



SERMON IV. 



ant over Death and Hell to his Fathers 
presence and glory. 

Instead of busying our minds in recon- 
ciling expressions of this kind, and reduc- 
ing the incomprehensible nature of God's 
majesty to the humble standard of human 
thought, let regard be rather paid to that 
benign office on which our Lord immedi- 
ately entered upon his arrival in the gates 
of Heaven. He presented himself before 
his Father, as an advocate in the cause of 
sinners, and a faithful Mediator between 
the strictness of pure justice, and the mild- 
ness of mercy. At the name of Mediator, 
who among us can refrain from breaking 
out in joy, surpassing all understanding ? 
Our Lord might have died for us; he 
might have risen again for our justifica- 
tion: he might have " led (as the Psalmist 
says) captivity captive/' or gone up on 
high in triumph over sin; but weakened, 
as we are, by inherent propensities to evil, 
and defiled daily by habitual guilt, what 
should we have hoped for ? what should we 



SERMON IV. 



71 



not have dreaded ? what should we not, in 
mind, have suffered, had not our Lord, 
when he left this world, began to exercise 
a new character for us, and to employ the 
intervention of his interceding prayers, that 
our iniquities might be forgiven ? Hence 
it is that despair hath no seat in our bosom. 
Hence it is that though we offend daily, 
and keep not the commandments of God 
before our eyes, we hope and trust he will 
yet overlook our transgressions, upon sin- 
cere repentance ; and if we are really sorry 
for our offences, will forgive, through Jesus 
Christ. 

3. The latter part of this Article con- 
tains most serious doctrine, and is highly 
interesting, in its awful consequences, to 
the whole race of mankind. It declares 
openly to the world, that Jesus, who was 
seated, upon his Ascension, at the right 
hand of his Father, shall come again, not 
as he went up, for the reward of his suffer- 
ings and the mediation for sinful men, but 
in the tremendous character of a Judge. 



72 



SERMON IV. 



As sin is the stain in every man's nature, 
where can be found the offender against 
his God, who shrinks not at the thought, 
" that he must appear at the bar of righte- 
ous judgment, and give an undissembled 
account of his life upon the earth ! " The 
statement to no one can be so clear and 
innocent but he must feel a sad misgiving ; 
he must shudder at the thought of rising 
again from the grave, and presenting him- 
self for the award of justice at the tribunal 
of an impartial God ! We all fearfully 
think of this arraignment, and, whatsoever 
our thoughtless occupation here may be, 
must tremble. 

" From thence he shall come to judge the 
quick and the dead." 

This is the coming to which the angels 
in the text allude, when they tell to the gaz- 
ing disciples " that he shall come in like 
manner as they see him go into Heaven." 
And what is that manner ? It is a sudden 
and unexpected appearance. It is open to 
the sight of all who shall be present at his 



SERMON IV. 



73 



arrival It is the return of him who left 
the earth in the form of man ; and in that 
form calling the souls of all mankind into 
his presence for judgment. 

The next inquiry is in what the judg- 
ment will consist. It will consist of an im- 
partial examination into the lives of all, in 
whatever age, under whatever dispensation, 
in whatever quarter of the inhabited world, 
they may have had their being. Natural 
and revealed religion will afford different 
rules for judgment, and affix to them who 
have existed under them a greater or less 
degree of criminality or obedience ; they 
will condemn or acquit more particularly 
according to the degree of knowledge which 
they shall have imparted to the world. 

The force of conscience *, rejected or re- 
garded, will be the criterion for the unen- 
lightened; the commandments delivered from 
Mount Sinai, will try the Hebrews and their 
descendants ; the doctrines of Jesus, all 
Christians. How then shall we stand ? In 
what order do ive come ? In no other than 



74 



SERMON IV. 



as faithful or sinful, living under the Gospel. 
This was the fulfilling of all knowledge, 
however indistinctly given before, and the 
substance of every shadow which it had 
pleased God to grant to former genera- 
tions. It, therefore, follows of course, that 
if God hath done more for us, hath revealed 
himself more fully, and hath taught us his 
perfect will, the judgment to be exercised 
upon us must be more comprehensive, and 
subject all who shall be found guilty to a 
greater condemnation. 

That this judgment will be in mercy, we 
learn from the circumstance declared by 
our Lord himself, " that God had com- 
mitted the whole to him, as the Son of Man ; 
and also because he faiew what was in him, 
or the infirmities of his nature. 

The scene itself, when this judgment shall 
take place, is to be found, by all men who 
shall consult the description of it, in the 
Gospel of St. Matthew. They there may 
behold the Son of Man in his glory, sit- 
ting on a throne, accompanied by his an- 



SERMON IV. 75 

gels. At the sound of a trump all who 
have had life shall rise ; the dead in the 
faith of Christ shall rise first, and hear a 
blessing pronounced upon them, standing 
on the right hand of the Redeemer ; the un- 
repenting wicked shall be placed on the 
left, and sent away under the curse of re- 
jection into the company of evil spirits. 
Who can think of this universal assembly; 
of the terrors of the Judge ; the imparti- 
ality of examination ; the sentence to be 
passed; and not fear? It is sufficient 
surely to strike the hearts of the most ob- 
durate men. 

The Article says, " that our Lord shall 
come to judge the quick/' By this expres- 
sion, " the quick" are to be understood, 
all those who, upon the arrival of that day, 
shall be found alive upon the earth. For 
our Lord will knock at the door when men 
shall not look for his appearance, and sur- 
prise them in all their ways of vice or vir- 
tue, of joy or sorrow. 

The Apostle says, that the quick shall be 



76 



SERMON IV. 



" changed/' or undergo so sudden an alter- 
ation from corruption to incorruption, as 
shall resemble a rising from death to life ; 
so that all mankind, whether quick or dead, 
may be judged together. The Apostle, in 
his Epistle to the Thessalonians, expressly 
writes, " that they who remain unto the 
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them 
who are asleep, i. e. they who shall be alive 
shall not be judged before them who are 
raised from the grave. 

The summary of this Article is this : 
I believe, upon the authority of the Evan- 
gelists, " that our Lord having continued 
forty days upon the earth after his Resurrec- 
tion, was taken up into the air in the pre- 
sence of his chosen disciples, and seated in the 
highest place of honour by his Father, 6 on 
his right hand* " I believe, " that he then 
entered upon the office of Intercessor for 
many I believe " that at a period appointed 
by the unknown counsels of God, he shall re- 
turn from his throne of glory, in a visible 
manner as man, to be the judge of men." 



SERMON IV. 



77 



J believe " that all nations shall be gathered 
before him, and after trial receive a sen- 
tence of happiness or misery." 1 believe " that 
at the time of his appearance many shall be 
existing upon the earth, and shall suffer a 
change as of death to life ; that God may 
be righteous in his dealing with all, and every 
creature be made equally capable of immor- 
tality ; ivhen what was sown in corruption 
shall be raised in incorruption." 



THE 

BELIEF IN THE HOLY GHOST. 

ARTICLE V. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON V. 



St. John xv. 26. 

When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you 
from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth 
from the Father, he shall testify of me. 



The Third Person in the Holy Trinity, 
which is the subject of the next Article of 
the Apostles' Creed, is of so refined and in- 
comprehensible a nature, that the endow- 
ments of mind, hitherto bestowed upon 
man, have not the power to investigate it* 
much less to explain it to their satisfaction. 
All that can be learned or understood of 
the Holy Spirit, is from the Scriptures. 
These contain what it hath been the plea- 
sure of God to reveal, and thence, of 
course, what it rs required of man to 
believe. 

The unbelievers, or they who pretend to 
dispute the divine doctrine of the Holy 

G 



82 



SEKM0N V. 



Ghost, as a Person, consider him merely as 
a quality, in the same manner as they would 
speak of light and heat, received from the 
sun. These, however, are the effects of 
that great luminary in the heavens ; but not 
the body itself. 

To this objection it is fairly answered, 
" that the Scriptures describe the Holy 
Ghost as performing actions ;" these neces- 
sarily can be done by a Person only ; for 
what quality can act f Can it in ourselves &■ 
Can good temper act ? Can an evil one ? 
They may dispose us to act, but can effect 
nothing of themselves. An agent must 
have substance : a mere propensity of mind, 
or heart, can have none : but the Holy 
Spirit is said to go, to come, to be sent, to 
enlighten, to speak, to comfort. Common 
sense must tell every unbiassed man, that 
such expressions belong to a Person, not to 
powers without a substance. 

St. Paul beseeches the converts to whom 
he wrote, not to " grieve the Spirit of God;" 
but it must be a Person only who can be 



SERMON V. 



83 



grieved. No operation or effect can admit 
of imparted grief. The Spirit intercedeth 
with groans for man. Who can, for a mo- 
ment, imagine but a Person is here signi- 
fied ? Can intercession itself be supposed 
to be made, unless there be an Inter- 
cessor ? 

The Spirit also teacheth. What is neces- 
sary for the purpose of such an office? 
Teaching surely requires an agent ; as they 
who are to be taught must be persons them- 
selves, so the thing to be taught must ori- 
ginally have proceeded from a teacher. 

The Spirit hnoweth all things. To know, 
argues a mind fit to comprehend and to 
retain. Can this be said of any created 
thing ? Can it be spoken of an attribute, 
which hath no substance ? The Spirit re- 
vealetln the will of God. If the meaning of 
the word " revealed 33 be at all considered, 
it will, of course, suggest the necessity of a 
person ; for revelation can no otherwise be 
made than by signs, such as voices and 
figures. But to speak, or to make tokens 

g 2 



84 



SERMON V. 



of any kind, requires life; yet we all know 
that the strongest qualities, either of mind 
or of body, can have no life. It would be 
endless to multiply arguments to this na- 
ture. There cannot exist a doubt, if the 
Holy Scriptures be true, that what they 
communicate of the Holy Ghost must be 
true also. Our Saviour sent forth his 
Apostles with the commission " to baptize 
in the name of the Father, of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost." This express charge 
shows them, in its distinguishing terms, to 
be three different Persons. 

1. God the Father cannot be said to 
speak to himself because he doeth; the Holy 
Ghost speaheth. 

The Father cannot intercede for himself ; 
the Holy Ghost intercedeth. 

The Father cannot be sent as a Com- 
forter to himself ; but the Holy Ghost came 
as the Comforter. 

Our Saviour said, the Holy Ghost should 
receive of his ; but the Father could not 
receive from himself, for he gives. 



SERMON V. 



85 



But the Holy Ghost is also uncreated, 
because he is the Spirit of God ; and God 
could not be created. 

Sins committed against the Holy Ghost 
are not to be forgiven. If he was not a 
Person, nothing could be committed against 
him ; and if he were created, sins could 
not be without a possibility of pardon. 

2. The Holy Ghost also cannot be the 
Son, for the world was made by the Son, or 
the Word, as St. John says ; — but Moses 
writes, before the world was created, " the 
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the 
waters." 

Another argument to show that the Holy 
Ghost must be an uncreated Person, may 
be drawn from the article of the Creed, 
" that Jesus was conceived of the Holy 
Ghost," for by that conception he was 
called the Son of God. 

But if the Holy Spirit be a Person, and 
not created, he must be God; for there can 
be but one uncreated, and he is God. 

That the Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is God, 



86 



SERMON V. 



is also to be inferred from St. Peter's re- 
proof of Ananias and Sappfaira. He told 
the former, that he had lied against the 
Holy Ghost ; and the latter, that she had 
sinned against God. 

The bodies of men are called by St. Paul 
the temples of the Holy Ghost. But what 
can give the just notion of a temple but a 
residence of God $ and who can reside, or 
dwell, but a Person ? 

But the attributes of God are also 
ascribed to the Holy Ghost; hence he is 
said to know all things; to have all power; 
to be everywhere present. But if these 
things belong to God only, the Holy Ghost, 
who exerciseth them, must be a partaker 
of the same nature. 

Thus far the Scriptures assist us in form- 
ing a belief in the Third Person of the 
Trinity—" the Holy Ghost." They tell us 
in what his nature consists, as distinct from 
the Father and Son ; but they go no farther. 
The degree of intellect, conferred by the 
Creator, in his wiser counsels upon the 



SERMON V. 



87 



weak minds of his creatures upon earth, 
stops here. Who can ascend into Heaven, 
and there see the Deity as he is? Im- 
plicit faith, however, is justly required 
from all, to whom the truth is revealed, 
because he who reveals it is true himself ; 
and the Scriptures which contain the revela- 
tion, being the word of God, are true also. 

Instead, therefore, of misemploying our 
time in a fruitless research ; instead of 
harassing our understanding by doubtful 
conjectures, and encouraging curious dis- 
quisitions upon points above our concep- 
tion, it surely must be wise to limit our 
inquiries to what we may know, and to 
turn such knowledge to our good. 

I shall, therefore, leave all other attempts 
to explain the precise meaning of the 
terms, which describe the relationship of 
the Holy Ghost with the Father, as proceed- 
ing from him , or with the Son, as testi- 
fying of him ; satisfying myself, however 
that it really subsists, because I learn it 
from the words of Christ himself 



88 



SERMON V. 



I shall direct your thoughts now to the 
manner in which the Holy Ghost hath been 
manifested to the world. The operations 
of the Spirit, according to the New Testa- 
ment, have been of two kinds: — 1. That 
which was displayed in an extraordinary 
effusion of power, on the day of Pentecost ; 
2. That which, from the ceasing of the 
miraculous efforts, continues to influence 
the hearts of all the true believers in Christ, 
by the ordinary gift of inspiration or grace. 
These have been equally necessary for the 
great purpose of man's redemption. The 
more bright and public display of the mar- 
vellous glory which accompanied the visible 
descent of the Holy Ghost at the Feast of 
Weeks, was requisite for the sudden en- 
lightening of the mind of the Apostles, 
confirming them in the belief of their 
Master, giving them the wonderful variety 
of speech and language, and drawing the 
multitude, who saw and heard them, to 
an immediate conversion. When the pur- 
poses, for which this communication of 



SERMON V. 



89 



heavenly light was given, were accom- 
plished, as there remained no necessity for 
its continuance, it ceased. The private 
influence upon the heart, disposing it to all 
goodness, succeeded. As this is still, and 
ever will be, necessary for the guidance of 
all Christians, it yet remains to us, and is 
placed as a lamp, perpetually burning in 
our breast, to give light to the understand- 
ing, and to warm the pious affections of 
every believer. 

Next to the manner by which the Holy 
Spirit operates in our minds, it will be 
proper to show in what its effects consist. 

1. Our blessed Lord, its first and principal 
office, under the name of the Comforter. 

This word implies relief in distress, and 
consolation in affliction. It was most pro- 
perly applied by Jesus for the support of 
his chosen friends, when they were to be 
deprived of their Master's presence ; to go 
forth as preachers of his Gospel, in the 
face of malice ; to resist with boldness the 
violence of inveterate prejudice ; and, 



90 



SERMON V. 



finally, to suffer torture and death, in attes- 
tation of that truth which they should 
publish to the world. 

The same word is not less applicable to 
all Christians, who, in the course of their 
warfare and opposition to the temptations 
of the world, and the wiles of Satan, are 
liable to much vexation, fears, and trouble. 
The dependance upon the aid of the Holy 
Spirit, the consolatory suggestions of his 
power, and the assurance raised by his 
secret admonition, " that the Lord loveth 
whom he is pleased to chasten/' disarm the 
severest trials of all their terror, and stop 
the sighs of the most afflicting sorrow. 

52. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to 
raise us, by a new birth as it were, from 
wickedness to holiness ; to rekindle in us 
the light of reason, which sinfulness may 
have nearly extinguished ; and to make us 
again alive to our neglected duty. He 
regenerates us. 

3. It is also the office of the Spirit to 
unite all true believers in one bond of fel- 



SERMON V. 



91 



lowship ; to make them equally partakers 
of the same redemption ; and to claim 
alike an eternal inheritance, through Christ 
Jesus. For by one Spirit we are all bap- 
tized in one body. 

4. It is the office also of the Spirit to assist 
us in our endeavours after the righteousness 
required by our faith. If we stand alone 
in our oivn conceit we cannot but fall ; for 
we are not sufficient of ourselves to do any 
thing as from ourselves. The Holy Ghost 
working within us, and with us, we are 
enabled to will and to do. He gives us 
our sufficiency. 

5. The great blessing of the Holy Ghost 
again appears, from the relationship thereby 
obtained with God himself. For St. Paul 
says, as many as are led by the Spirit of 
God they are the sons of God. The pre- 
eminence of this high and distinguished 
character exalts the nature of man to a 
glorified condition above all things. That 
they are by the Spirit authorised to call 
God their Father, cannot but be a cause 



92 



SERMON V. 



of the proudest and most comfortable 
boasting to all believers. 

I might enumerate many other benefits 
arising to man, in the different conditions 
of his being, from the power of the Holy 
Ghost ; I might enlarge upon the enlighten- 
ing our minds by his grace ; disposing our 
wills ; establishing our faith in firmness ; 
and assisting our devotions. I might par- 
ticularize his aid, by which he fortifies our 
minds against the assaults of temptation, 
when the evil spirit would otherwise be 
resisted in vain, and all his wiles prevail to 
our destruction. It is through the impulse 
of this Divine Monitor that we break all 
bonds asunder, and snap the hidden snares 
which are laid to entangle our feet. It is 
the Spirit which carries us through all 
open and hidden dangers, and stretches 
out that shield of faith which repels the 
darts of offence from any adversary. 

But there comes a moment to all created 
men when the power of the Efoly Ghost is 
more evidently and importantly found— 



SERMON V. 



93 



the moment of death. The offices of the 
Spirit above pointed out, concern the 
actions of men, and the comforts derived 
from them, while they are proceeding in 
the journey of life with bodily strength and 
health of mind. The last office of this 
Divine Person which I shall now mention, 
respects the sad hour, when the vigour of 
the limbs is all decaying, when the sound- 
ness of the understanding is yielding to the 
infirmities of sinking nature, and dissolu- 
tion is making its visible approaches with 
irresistible terrors. At that gloomy season, 
every ray of light nearly extinguished and 
gone, what shall give aid ? What shall, for 
a short time, compose the trembling heart? 
What shall reconcile it to the dreadful scene 
in view ? What shall afford it courage to 
meet the stroke of the uplifted spear, and, 
above all, to appear before an impartial 
Judge ; a Judge, to whom the whole life 
hath been open ; from whom no secret 
act can have been concealed ; who know- 
eth the inmost heart ; all its former desires ; 



94 



SERMON V. 



all its pretensions to mercy ; all its aggra - 
vated calls for angry justice ? Were it not 
for the Holy Spirit infusing into our hearts 
the softening medicine of patience, sub- 
mission, and resignation, ive, as Job by his 
faithless monitor was advised, " might 
curse our God and die/' Were it not for the 
drops of sweetness which the Holy Spirit 
pours into the cup of bitterness, despair 
would cast us down, and bring us low, 
even before our hour, to the grave. Were 
it not for the small voice awakening our 
dejected breasts, and crying in our ear, 
" Blessed are the dead that die in the 
Lord/' no eye would be free from tears; 
no flesh from trembling ; no heart from 
dismay. The Holy Ghost coming upon 
us as with wings of a messenger from 
Heaven, and pointing upwards to the 
realms of happiness, showing us the Re- 
deemer, sitting at the right hand of God, 
and " the courts of the Lord's house/' 
through his blood and merits, opened to 
receive us, in the midst of agony we smile 



SERMON V. 



95 



at pain ; in the midst of all our sorrows we 
rejoice ; in the midst of our dissolution we 
triumph; and, as in the Revelations of 
St. John, cry out, as we expire, in hope 
and faith, " Lord Jesus, come quickly/' 

These are some of the blessings derived 
to mankind from the Holy Ghost. They 
are to be obtained from his operation ; 
and this is the only means by which it is 
either to be hoped for or obtained — 
Prayer. " Ask/' says our Lord, " and ye 
shall receive/' 

But it must be of little use once to ob- 
tain unless there be a disposition to remain 
in the possession of a gift. It is for this 
reason we subjoin to our common prayers 
the humble request to God, " that he may 
never take away his Holy Spirit from us." 

The summary of the Article, above at- 
tempted to be explained, is this : 

I believe in the Third Person of the God- 
head — the Holy Ghost. I believe, as the 
word of God, and as the Scriptures have 
t alight me, that there exists this Person, 



96 



SERMON V. 



though the mode or difference of existence be 
at present incomprehensible by me. I believe 
that he, as Scripture teaches me, is a Person, 
neither the Father nor the Son, but proceed- 
ing or issuing from them both. I believe 
that, as he is of the Divine Nature, all 
honour is due to him, as of right must 
belong. I believe, to my comfort, that he 
is mighty in power, and that through him 
all the dispensations of God are communi- 
cated to mankind; that he confers the 
means of grace, and creates in us the hope 
of glory. I believe that, through him, every 
support is derived to the mind of man, both 
in the present difficulties of the world, and 
the prospect of future happiness; for he 
administers consolation while we live, and 
renders our departure calm and serene when 
we come to die ! 



THE BELIEF 

IN 

THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH ; 
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS ; 

THE 

FORGIVENESS OF SINS. 
ARTICLE VI. 

A SERMON. 



Et 



SERMON VI. 



1 Cor. xii. 27. 
Ye are the body of' Christ, and members one of another. 



The Articles of the Creed, which have 
been already explained, contain the prin- 
cipal doctrines of the Christian faith. 

They comprehend the substance of the 
first commission to teach, which our blessed 
Lord was pleased to give to his Apostles 
before he ascended into Heaven. They 
were enjoined by him to go forth and bap- 
tize in the countries through which they 
should pass, or the then known world, in 
his own name ; in that first of all, of his 
Father, and of the Holy Ghost. The com- 
pilers of our Creed have followed this in- 
junction, and, agreeably to the teaching of 
the Apostles, have required the assent of 
Christians to the same objects of their faith. 

h 2 



100 



SERMON VI. 



The remaining Articles are inserted as 
the peculiar doctrines of the reformed or 
Protestant Church, in opposition to the 
errors of the Romish and other favourers of 
schism. The consideration of these will 
afford matter for explanation, and most 
properly claim your attention. One of 
the Fathers remarked, that there was much 
propriety observed by the drawers up of 
the Creed, after they had distinguished 
their belief in the three Persons of the God 
head, in immediately subjoining the means 
by which they were worshipped — " The 
Church." 

" J believe in the Holy Catholic Church," 
The word " Church/' whether it hath a 
relation to its original derivation, either 
from Pagan or Scriptural language, signi- 
fies an assembly, or a meeting together of 
men, for the serious purposes of the state, 
or of religion. 

Since the promulgation of the doctrines, 
and the establishment of Christianity, the 
word hath been taken to express the society 



SEftMON VI. 



101 



of those who have met together to celebrate 
the mercy of God, in the redemption of 
man by Jesus Christ. As the first believers 
of the Gospel were not confined to one 
nation, the Church then consisted of as 
many members as were found to believe in 
the Redeemer. These were either more 
or less in number, as circumstances al- 
lowed. As there were " added daily such 
as should be saved/' the meetings, of 
course, were multiplied. The foundation 
of faith among them all could be but one 
— " Christ Jesus." When it is read that 
churches were established in nearer or 
more remote parts of the earth, it must be 
understood " that there was but one ori- 
gin ; collectively they formed, under one 
head, but one body." There was, there- 
fore, no impropriety in that Creed which 
inserted the word one before the Catholic 
Church. Wheresoever Christ is preached, 
by whatsoever inhabitants of the earth God 
may be worshipped through Christ, the 
Mediator, there is the Church. There may 



102 



SERMON VI. 



be different appointments in the form of 
their service, but the belief itself consti- 
tutes the assembly of the faithful. The 
real Church of Christ consists, therefore, 
in unity. 

1. The criterion by which this real 
Church is known, is its doctrine : for this 
reason the word " holy" is annexed to this 
Article. 

The doctrines are the precepts of the 
Gospel. These constitute a society of be- 
lievers, who have faith in Christ Jesus, and 
bind themselves according to that faith to 
lead a life of virtue. 

The Evangelists delivered down the word 
of Christ by their writings, in order to con- 
firm the Jews in the acts of moral worship; 
and to draw oif the Gentiles from idolatry. 
All converts, therefore, to Christianity were 
to consider the pure worship of God as the 
basis of their religion ; and as this led to 
holiness, that Church, which professedly 
assumed this mark of distinction, was called 
holy. 



SERMON VI. 



103 



In this sense the Church stands uncon- 
nected with any assemblies of men, who 
make not the life of Christ alone the pillar 
of their building. 

The chief object of the compilers, in this 
part of the Creed, was to mark heretics, 
or those who departed from the genuine 
word of Scripture, in their own faith ; and 
by their new opinions, caused divisions 
among the other believers. 

The Holy Church is that which teaches 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost, in contradiction to 
all, who, of any sect, may be followers of 
innovations, and thereby embrace impious 
and blasphemous opinions. 

Next to the purity of its doctrines, the 
Church is called " holy," from its effects. 
Its teaching is one characteristic of its holi- 
ness ; its practice another. It separates the 
pure gold from the dross, and constitutes 
its people zealous of good works. 

In another sense the Church is "holy," 
as it brings its members to a likeness of 



104 



SEJttMON VI. 



God, the fountain of holiness, and to a sure 
promise also of reward ; for " by holiness 
every man shall see the Lord :" hence the 
Saints are said, in the book of Revelations, 
" to have washed their robes in the blood 
of the Lamb/' This holy Church is called 
Catholic. The term here made use of sig- 
nifies universal. It was introduced into the 
Creed to show that the particular societies, 
under different teachers, whose whimsical 
tenets had created many divided assem- 
blies of Christians, were only parts of one 
body, and not, as they supposed, complete 
of themselves, and unconnected with the 
general fellowship in Christ Jesus. 

Could it be consistent with common 
sense, that a small number of believers as- 
sembling together under the persuasion of 
any individual teacher, wresting their con- 
sciences according to his private concep- 
tions or misinterpretations of Scripture, 
could compose at their pleasure or fancy 
that visible Church of Christ? Could it 

4 



SE11MON VI. 



105 



agree with reason, that the few united in 
the cities of Asia, professing this or that 
doctrine of their oivn, could represent by 
themselves alone that Saviour whose merits 
were to extend to all believers ? It there- 
fore must appear to have been wisdom in 
the framers of the Creed to require an open 
declaration from all who professed them- 
selves Christians, " that they believed in 
one holy universal Church" united under the 
doctrines of him alone who was the corner- 
stone of the house to which they belong. 

This observation will at once destroy the 
pretending systems of men and countries. 
It brings the Church to its necessary trial ; 
and, like a touch-stone, shows at once the 
genuine or the borrowed title to pre-emi- 
nence. It, in one word, teaches that where 
the Scriptural communications, as given by 
the Apostles, are the foundation, there only 
is the Church ; and, as before observed, 
where they are not, every building must be 
raised in sand. 



106 



SERMON VI. 



2. To the Holy Catholic Church is added 
" that we believe there is a communion of 
Saints'' 

According to the usage of saints in the 
New Testament, it is to be collected that 
the word implies ft true believers" for these 
in Christ Jesus are sanctified, or, from the 
nature of their faith, " made holy" 

It is not, as was remarked in the fore- 
going Article, for any individual men to 
assume this name at their own will. It is 
then only rightly applied when spoken of 
those who, while they are living upon the 
earth, act according to that faith ; and 
when they die depart from the world with 
the same confidence in the merits of their 
Redeemer. 

The expression Communion signifies that 
all Christians, resembling the parts con- 
nected with the body, have a natural inter- 
course and connexion with each other be- 
fore death ; and after the resurrection to a 
life of glory, shall unite in singing to the 
46 Lamb that was slain V and giving to him 



SERMON VI. 



107 



" honour, blessing, and power, for ever 
and ever/' 

That there is a Holy Catholic Church 
and a Communion of Saints is made an 
object of belief. Why so ? for this reason ; 
Christians cannot but have pleasure in the 
persuasion, " that there is a real household 
of faith, to which they belong, and that 
wherever this may be fixed, or in whatever 
form it may continue, it has but one Author, 
who will be with it to the end of the world f* 
and who hath also declared, " that the 
gates of Hell shall never prevail against it." 

3. The next Article, strongly connected 
with the former, as it stands in our Creed, 
whether it runs in the words, "forgiveness 
of sins" as in the Apostles, or in one bap- 
tism for the remission of sins, as in the 
Nicene, was introduced as an open profes- 
sion in answer to the sectaries of the times. 
by whom the sins before and after baptism 
were differently considered, as intitled to 
the mercy of God through Christ Jesus. 

According to the acceptation of the 



108 



SERMON VI. 



word Baptism among the Primitive Fa- 
thers, it was understood that the initiation 
into the religion of Jesus, by the emblem 
of water, was an assurance of pardon for 
all inherent defilement of nature, before 
they were admitted by that ceremony into 
the new covenant with God. 

It was acknowledged to be an outward 
sign of an inward grace. 

But though this washing of Baptism was 
acknowledged by all the sects, there were 
some of a more rigid temper who disputed 
the possibility of regeneration when guilt 
was contracted after Baptism. 

As there was no warrant from Scripture 
to justify so discouraging and afflicting a 
notion ; a notion which excluded the effi- 
cacy of the most earnest repentance, the 
wiser compilers of our Belief thought it 
proper publicly to discountenance the un- 
just assertion, and to condemn an idea so 
destructive to the happiness of a very great 
number among the believers in Jesus Christ 
They , therefore, upon the tenour of the 



SERMON VI. 



109 



whole Gospel doctrines inserted the Article, 
" the forgiveness of sins" 

For a ready understanding of this Arti- 
cle it is necessary to define what is meant 
by sin, and through what means it is to be 
forgiven. 

Sin is the wilful transgression of a law. 
A law is of greater or less obligation ac- 
cording to its sanction. As none can be 
greater than that which is established by 
the authority of God, the breach of that 
must be the most heinous offence which 
can be committed. That God was pleased, 
at a very early period of man's history, to 
make an explicit declaration of his will, is 
to be found in the Revelation he was 
pleased to make of himself to his creatures. 
Offence against that will constitutes sin ; 
the violation of it exposes all to his 
indignation. 

From the first man to the period when 
our Lord appeared, sin had branched out 
in various ways, and its guilt been aggra- 
vated by frequent commission. 



110 



SERMON VI. 



The displeasure of God had been mani- 
fested both by general judgments and by 
partial punishments. 

But the true nature of sin is to be col- 
lected from the New Testament, and the 
correction of it will be found more parti- 
cularly expressed by Christ than by Moses 
and the Prophets. He describes sin as 
consisting, not only of actions committed, 
but omitted duties, and declares the punish- 
ment to be not of a temporal but eternal 
nature. 

The Scriptures, however, which repre- 
sent the divine Law-giver as severe in 
justice, clothe him in the milder dress of 
goodness and mercy. They hold forth the 
promises of forgiveness upon amendment 
of life ; they assure all sinners of an ac- 
cepted Mediation; they proceed in one 
uniform object to the end of their history; 
they preserve occasional renewals of pro- 
mises, " that a Saviour should be born," 
and that, through him, upon repentance, 
a restoration should be obtained to the 
lost favour of God. 



SERMON VI. 



Ill 



" The forgiveness of sins" therefore, as 
an Article of the Creed, is a declaration, 
" that God's mercy will be extended in 
remitting trespasses through the blood and 
the atonement of his Son — the looked-for 
Messiah ; him who was sacrificed as a pro- 
pitiation for the sins of the world/' The 
general call to repentance, so earnestly re- 
peated in all parts of the New Testament, 
sufficiently shows that the merits of the 
great redemption are not, as many have 
supposed, confined to the regenerated by 
water at their Baptism, but remain, in their 
full force, to all who shall forsake their 
sins, and return to a good life by con- 
trition. 

Were it not so, wherefore did our Lord 
leave a power with his Apostles to remit 
the punishment for the transgressions of 
men ? Wherefore did he say, " whose- 
soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto 
them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they 
are retained/' These words, though they 
may refer immediately to temporal censures, 



SERMON VI. 



and the penal statutes of Moses, yet, ac- 
cording to the whole tenour of the Gospel, 
they respect the absolute forgiveness of all 
tresspases through Christ Jesus. 

The Church to which we belong hath 
sufficiently shown its sense in the matter ; 
and, therefore, after the confession of sins, 
hath authorised its ministers to pronounce 
pardon to the truly penitent ; and, in the 
service for the sick, hath given power to 
the Priest to declare an absolution of 
offences against God, upon hearty re- 
pentance. 

A remark, however, is here to be made, 
that in these forms of absolving the minister 
doth not pretend to speak from himself. 
He does not assume an arrogant virtue 
from his own authority as a person, but 
from his office, as from Jesus himself, 
whose servant only he is, and as commis- 
sioned by him to publish to all who shall 
repent a return to the favour of God 
through his blood. 46 We preach not our- 
selves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord ; " and we 



SERMON VI. 1|S 

deliver the words of our Master, under a 
preconceived and full persuasion, " that 
the sinner's repentance is sincere." 

The Reformed Church, upon this prin- 
ciple, hath ever condemned the presump- 
tion of the Romanist, who takes upon 
himself to pronounce pardon, to give a 
licence to sin by a dispensing power, and 
to sell indulgences for a bribe. 

The Creed inserts a belief in " the 
remission of sins" upon the true ground 
alone, " the Gospel." It directs men to 
one fountain only, to him who died for 
man, and was bruised for their offences. 

The substance of the three Articles, thus 
explained, is this : 

" I believe that Christ our Lord directed 
his servants to meet together, in remem- 
brance of himself; and to associate as 
friends, under him, the Author of their faith. 
I believe, that, as this faith is but one, the 
assemblies in his name, or the Church, can 
be but one ; that it of a natural consequence 
follows, that wherever the doctrines of the 

i 



114 



SERMON VI. 



great Redemption are preached, there the 
same Church, however remote the parts 
may be, must exist. I believe also, that the 
partakers of the same ordinances, under the 
same Master, must be united brethren in 
this world, and*, through their head, will 
be admitted to everlasting fellowship in the 
next. 

1 believe, under the next Article, that the 
Church to which I belong had an authority, 
from the teaching of the Apostolical Faith, 
to declare a forgiveness of sins to all man- 
hind, through the atonement and merits of 
Jesus Christ. I believe, that the nature of 
sin itself required such a sacrifice as he urns, 
and that this was really made. I believe, that, 
at the entering upon the new covenant ivith 
God, through Christ, a baptism, the original 
stain of my nature luas taken away ; and, 
also, that my sins, since baptism, will be 
remitted upon my true repentance. I be- 
lieve that in Christ Jesus alone, and in his 
ivord, this forgiveness is to be looked for, 
and not in the usurped authority of fallible 



SEKMON VI. 



115 



man. I believe, that this remission, pro- 
mised through the blood of Christ, will be 
certain and effectual to me, if I shall love 
God and keep his commandments ; if 1 shall 
esteem, as I ought, the great price which 
was paid for my Redemption, and suffer that 
thought to reclaim it, as it were, by a new 
birth, after sinning, to a holy life!' 



i 2 



THE 

RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, 

AND 

THE LIFE EVERLASTING. 
ARTICLE VII. 



A SERMON. 



SERMON VII 



2 Cor. v. 10. 

We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that 
every one may receive the things done in his body. 



Man is found to consist of two parts, of 
different origin : one of a heavenly, the 
other of an earthly nature. One of spi- 
ritual extraction, and therefore everlasting; 
the other of mortal composition, and there- 
fore perishable. 

The spiritual and earthly, the corruptible 
and incorruptible, exist together for a 
given space of time, and then, by a sepa- 
ration, are disunited. The question with 
men is, hoiv sins, which call aloud for 
vengeance, are to meet their punishment ; 
and, again, how virtuous conduct may 
receive and enjoy a reward. 

The Apostle in the text gives a direct 
answer to this inquiry. He says, that all 
who have lived upon the earth must ap- 



120 



SERMON VII. 



pear, i. e. be raised again from death, to 
stand in the presence of Christ, the ap- 
pointed judge, and then to receive the 
reward of the things which were done in 
their bodies, whether good or evil. 

This declaration is a full and explicit 
justification of the Article in our Creed, 
which is proposed to the belief of all 
Christians. 

" The resurrection of the body? 

A resurrection implies a return of what 
had ceased to have existence to a new life. 
The body of man is that composition of a 
frame raised by an Almighty Creator, for 
the reception of a spiritual resident, " the 
soul." While this breath of Heaven remains 
in its assigned dwelling, the parts of that 
dwelling are sensible, or susceptible of feel- 
ing, and at the will of that spirit have all 
motion. When that animating principle 
shall relinquish its abode, the house which 
had contained it falls immediately into 
decay ; or death, as the effect of dissolu- 
tion, comes. But during the time of the 
union between the spiritual and earthly 



SERMON VII. 



121 



substances, actions were done, and what 
the mind, or spirit, conceived, the body 
executed by its members, or put into force 
by enjoyments. For these gratifications, 
or the deeds performed at the instigation 
of the soul, the Apostle says an account 
is to be given. This account is to be 
taken from the degree of good or evil, i. e. 
of obedience or disobedience to the will 
of God, either imparted to man by revela- 
tion, or inferred from the suggestions of 
reason. Reason is that intellectual gift by 
which, from natural impulse of conscience, 
or the inward thoughts of man's heart, he 
is directed to act according to the dictates 
of innocence, and a desire to please a 
superior. 

This superior is God. 

But if " things done " by man are the 
effects of mutual co-operation in the mind 
and body (for neither can act without the 
other, nor attempt any work singly or 
separately) ; if an account, as the text 
declares, be to be rendered before the tri- 



122 



SERMON VII. 



bunal of Chn^ hereafter of what they have 
jointly committtd. it is reasonable to con- 
clude, that after their separation they must 
be united again for the award of judgment ; 
or the soul and body, which by death were, 
for a time, set free from each other, must 
be brought together again, to receive pu- 
nishment or reward, blessing or misery. 

If there be force in this way of arguing, 
and, as it appears to me to be simple and 
fairly deducible, shall appear so to your- 
selves, ye cannot but see the propriety of 
the Article of your Creed, " The resurrec- 
tion of the body." Ye cannot but acknow- 
ledge that the compilers of the system 
judged wisely, as well as taught alarmingly, 
that, after death, we shall rise again from 
the dust, and our spirits re-occupy their 
former habitation, that they may be both 
answerable for, or sustain the consequences 
of, virtue or vice, of obedience or sin. 

The difficulties thrown in the way of 
believers, and the doubts which have 
weakened the faith of men in general, who 



SERMON VII. 



123 



are called upon to subscribe to this Article, 
have proceeded from the appearance of 
impossibility. They have argued, as from 
themselves only, and to suffer the thought 
to slip from their minds, " that God is not 
man ; man is finite ; God is infinite ; " i. e. 
the powers bestowed upon the creature are 
confined to very narrow limits of action ; 
those of the Creator are beyond all doubts. 
His will is his only law, and, at his plea- 
sure, he can create and uncreate ; he can 
raise into being, and can take that away ; 
he can form out of no visible mass ; can 
decompose that mass, and bring it back 
again to the fashion he gave it. Not such 
is the ability of man ; for, except it he first 
created, he can reduce to order no matter ; 
except it be made capable of receiving his 
workmanship, nothing can be fashioned by 
his hand. Weak and proud, we stumble 
in this path ; and, on one side, unable to 
satisfy ourselves by reasoning ; and, on the 
other, presuming upon our understanding, 
we boldly deny, or at least withhold our 



124 



SERMON VII. 



assent to what is not commensurate with 
the shallowness of our comprehension. 
But a humble Christian will argue thus : 

Did God at his word, as the Scripture, 
his revealed will teaches me, say, " Let 
there be light, and there was light : " — 
" Let the waters be divided, and the dry 
land appear:" — " Let the earth produce 
herbs and living creatures ? " — Was man, 
after the Maker had said, " Let us make 
man after our own image and likeness" 
really made from the dust of the ground ; 
and was the breath of life poured into his 
nostrils ? If so, the same Creator, who 
ordered all these things, and they were 
done, must have a power over them, and 
dispose all things as shall be his own 
pleasure. If he made them from a mass 
of matter, which had no determinate figure 
before they were raised from it, and he 
shall be pleased to say, " Let all these 
particles, for a time, separate again, and, 
at my will, be re-united in the same order/' 
shall it not be done ? Shall not his voice 



SERMON VII. 



125 



be obeyed ? Shall not the Almighty 
Author of the world, as the potter hath 
the power over his clay, unsettle and 
resettle what is his own creation ? " 

This is the way by which a humble be- 
liever reconciles to himself the great truth, 
" that he shall rise again from the grave, 
with the same vehicle of the soul as they 
existed in together for the journey of life." 
He acquiesces in submitting to the required 
Article of his Belief, from the just notion 
he entertains of Almighty Power, and the 
boundless ability of God, which no human 
being can aspire to ; or, however exalted he 
may be in the talents of his mind, or superior 
in the strength of his arm, can reach. 

I might illustrate this doctrine of the 
resurrection of the body, by the allusion of 
St. Paul to the vegetable world, and argue 
from it the probability of a similar renewal. 
Plants shed their leaves, but their root 
remains to many, and the Spring from 
that is again clothed with its former 
beauty. Seed corrupts, and the earnest 
of corn appears, the blade : but it is the 



126 



SERMON VII. 



same in substance, though bettered in con- 
dition. From this will grow the future 
harvest. " The fields from this/' as the 
Psalmist says, " will sing/' 

But the argument from the possibility of 
this resurrection is highly supported by the 
consideration of many Scriptural communi- 
cations. From what is recorded in these, 
satisfactory inferences may be drawn, and 
a more than probable assurance arise, " that 
there will be a resurrection of the body/' 

Did not the souls of the children, when 
restored to life by Elijah and Elisha, return 
to the very bodies from which they had 
fled ? Did not Job say that he knew, i. e. 
was firmly and beyond all doubt con- 
vinced that, though worms should destroy 
his body, yet, in his flesh he should see 
God? " Mine eyes," says he, " shall be- 
hold, and not another," not a stranger's ; 
" my own," i. e. the very eyes which were 
then in being. Was it to another body, or 
to that from which it had departed, that 
the spirit of the Ruler's daughter returned ? 
Did Lazarus eome forth, at the call of 



SERMON VII. 



127 



Jesus, in the same body from his grave, 
though it had been in a state of putrefac- 
tion for four days ? Whom did the widow 
woman of Nain receive again into her 
embrace, her own son, or in another 
form and substance ? But, above all, did 
our blessed Lord, after he had been buried, 
rise again the same man, with the same 
bodily parts, so as to be acknowledged 
even by the doubting Apostle Thomas, who 
touched him, and put his fingers into the 
print of the nails, which had been driven 
through his hands and feet ? 

The resurrection, however, of the same 
body is to consist, as St. Paul congratu- 
lated himself upon, of some material altera- 
tion ; of a change from its vileness to glory, 
from its mortal to an immortal nature. 
What this shall be is described in general 
terms only, and can, therefore, be in no 
other way conceived than as it hath pleased 
God to communicate it through the Apos- 
tle. All that can be learned is this : " that 
our at present perishable parts shall be 



128 



SERMON VII. 



made capable of everlasting duration, and 
what is buried a natural shall be raised a 
spiritual body. 

A short and obvious remark may here 
be made by us all. If our bodies are thus 
to rise, and we are to appear again in them 
before our Judge, and to account for the 
things " done" while we possessed them, 
it surety must be our duty, and should be 
our care, not to disfigure or defile them in 
any of their parts, lest the Judge should 
say to us, " I know you not." 

The last Article of the Creed most pro- 
perly follows the foregoing ; for it teaches 
what will happen after the resurrection, and 
into what state the body shall rise — " The 
life everlasting." 

This life must be necessarily supposed to 
include that of the righteous and the wicked ; 
for our Lord said that the former should 
go into " life eternal," and the latter " into 
everlasting fire." The word " life " signi- 
fies existence ; and this is either a blessing 
or a curse, as it is passed in joy or sorrow, 



SERMON VII. 



129 



in pleasure or pain. Everlasting implies 
what can have no end. The future state, 
after the Resurrection, is described by our 
Lord as to consist of these two most oppo- 
site conditions. He, confirming all which 
is any where communicated upon the 
awful subject, declares, that it will be on 
that day when he shall sit in judgment, and 
the office of his merciful intercession for 
sinners shall be finished, that God will vin- 
dicate his dealings, especially the present 
appearance of an unequal providence, by 
a full display of his justice and righteous- 
ness. For this end there is to be a general 
assembly of all his creatures, who have 
lived and acted upon the earth, in their 
various characters of faithful and unfaith- 
ful, of the righteous and wicked, of the 
repentant and the reprobate. Impartial 
examinations will be taken in the face of 
all ; sentences pronounced according to the 
degrees of obedience or disobedience ; 
and so just shall every man s allotment be, 
that, considering what they had received, 



K 



130 



SERMON VTI. 



and what they had abused, what they had 
done, and what they ought to have done, 
the whole assembly shall acknowledge the 
ways of the Almighty to he just and holy. 

The most dreadful to the thoughts of 
man is the assurance, " that what our Lord 
shall pronounce upon every individual who 
hath had being upon earth must remain*" 
that it cannot be reversed, but must be 
decreed to stand "for ever and ever!' It 
hath been a deceiving practice with men 
to exercise a fanciful imagination, and to 
persuade themselves ultimately into a 
belief, that what they think is true. Thus 
various opinions have gone forth into the 
world respecting the nature and duration of 
future punishments, and many having taken 
upon themselves to question the justice and 
mercy of God, when it is said " that the 
offences in this present life are to be cor- 
rected by a condemnation to eternal pain/' 
have speciously represented the severity of 
God's wrath by figurative descriptions. 
Thus, where the words Hell and fire are 



SERMON VII. 



131 



used, they would make it appear, " that 
these are merely representations of the pu- 
nishment which is to be inflicted : and, 
because fire is the most searching of all 
elements, and impossible to be endured, 
conceive, that it is an apt image only of 
what is to be undergone by condemned 
sinners in the world to come/' 

In answer to such reasoners it must be 
observed, that if there were to be no 
actual sensation of pain, there would be 
no occasion for the resurrection of the body, 
with changed and enlarged powers, both 
for the reception of the soul, or the suf- 
ferings for its deeds. If God, through his 
Son, hath declared to mankind, that they 
shall be tormented, in a second state, for 
the former hardness of their hearts, and 
impenitent conversation, particularly for 
rejecting him, who came to save them, what 
He, who " cannot lie/' hath denounced, 
must come to pass, and all the terrors de- 
scribed in Scripture, both in their kind 
and extent, must be true. It is sufficient 

k 2 



132 



SERMON VII. 



for us all to be assured, that of whatever 
nature the punishment may be, it will be 
a punishment. 

There is one simple way of reasoning 
for all men, which I would wish to recom- 
mend to your practice. God hath been 
pleased to express himself in precise 
terms, " that the wicked in this life, who 
have trampled his commandments beneath 
their feet, acting in defiance of reason, 
conscience, instruction, and the laws of a 
covenant revealed to them ; who have, 
moreover, turned a deaf ear to the Gospel 
of Christ, consumed their bodies by sinful 
enormities, alienated their minds from all 
religious obligations, by contempt, open 
violation, and scorn> shall be excluded from 
his presence , and undergo, among the 
companions of Satan, the torments of his 
abode, ivhatever that may be, for the same 
eternity of time. 

Happy would it be, did men suffer such 
thoughts to employ their hearts, and were 
led by them to forsake the ways of danger 



SERMON VII. 



133 



and misery before they die. Let them be 
assured, " that God is not to be mocked" 
and that if he has said, " I will avenge my 
honour/' the stroke of his indignation 
must fall. 

But as the life of the wicked, as Jesus 
said, is to be passed in everlasting pangs, 
so is that of the righteous to be enjoyed in 
everlasting bliss. 

The Scriptures, which, in this state of 
blindness, are our only guide in all things, 
in order to encourage men to seek God 
and to do his will, while they live, repre- 
sent the recompence for their service by 
all the splendid and joyful figures which 
strike our minds upon the earth. The joys 
of heaven are exhibited under the em- 
blems of light, the sun, and stars. The 
glory of them is compared to what con- 
stitutes earthly grandeur, crowns and 
thrones. The duration of them to such 
productions of nature as never fade away. 

But all the happiness of the life to come 
may be comprehended in this transporting 



134 



SERMON VII. 



prospect, " we shall see God " We shall 
see him, who, possessed of all power and 
truth, created the world in which we are 
placed; the firmament above us, with all its 
brightness ; the earth, with all its produc- 
tions ; the sea, with the immensity of its 
waters. We shall see him, who first ap- 
pointed for us, and afterwards sent down 
from his own presence , the great Advocate 
and Mediator, to redeem man, Christ Jesus. 
We shall behold the Saviour himself, and 
be admitted to a partaking, with the hea- 
venly messengers, of their songs, adora- 
tion, and praise. 

While we are in our flesh, what do we 
endure? Diseases, casualties, pain, and 
death. Our minds share in the same af- 
flictions, and distressful events sadden our 
days, bring us down with sorrow, and 
cause our tears and sighs to multiply. In 
the realms above, there will be no inter- 
ruption, from any such causes, to the happy 
continuance of our eternal inheritance. 

Who can permit these things to engage 



SERMON VII. 



135 



his thoughts, and forego the delightful 
prospect, by continuing in sin P who ra- 
ther will not strive to be good, " that he 
may entitle himself to the reward of the 
just.'' I sum up the two following articles 
in the declaration of my faith. 

I believe that, as, at the dissolution by 
death, the breath of man, or the divine 
spirit, returns to God, who gave it, and the 
body to the dust from whence it was taken, 
so, at the day of final judgment, they will 
be both united, and restored to a new con- 
dition, which may render them capable of 
retribution, either of happiness or misery, 
according to deeds done, by their joint ope- 
ration, in this life. 

I believe that, as God is true, his denun- 
ciation of an eternity of pain, in whatever 
it may consist, to the wicked, or of bliss to 
the righteous, must be as he hath said. 

I believe that, as the day of trial to all 
men will be past, God will sentence the unre- 
penting sinners to their punishment, and the 
faithful servants to their blessedness, accord- 



136 SERMON VII. 

ing to his justice and mercy. 1 believe, ac- 
cording to the belief I have in God, that 
he will be right in all his ways, and that 
his award shall stand, 



RECAPITULATION. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON VIII. 



1 Pet. iii. 15. 

Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh 
you a reason of the hope that is in you. 

To say " I believe 33 is expressed in few 
words, and easily uttered. "To believe' 3 
is a work of greater difficulty : because it 
presupposes a thorough acquaintance with 
truths, which require much time to exa- 
mine, and no small degree of research to 
understand, the nature of religious know- 
ledge, as it is more interesting than any 
other to acquire, so perhaps it demands 
greater pains satisfactorily to pursue. 

In order to assist you in arriving at an 
acquaintance with the doctrines of your 
holy faith, I have endeavoured, in a series 
of many discourses, to point out its parts, 
and to show what is contained in the ar- 
ticles of your belief. 



140 



SERMON VIII. 



Having finished my exposition of the 
several points proposed for your accept- 
ance as members of the Christian church, 
and attempted, however imperfectly, to 
explain them as they stand in their parti- 
cular order, I thought it might not be un- 
useful to bring the whole in one view be- 
fore you, and, by a general Recapitulation, 
to imprint them with a force of repetition 
upon your remembrance. — I took occasion 
to place before you the three objects, to 
which, by the command of Christ Jesus 
himself, ye are required to give your un- 
feigned assent : to the existence of the 
Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
I told you, that, when you profess to be- 
lieve in the Father, you mean, " that there 
exists a Being of a nature far different 
from, and superior to yourselves, who has 
been before all things, through an essence 
belonging to Himself alone, from whence 
he is called self-created. This existence 
cannot come within our comprehension ; 
but it must be true, because there must 



SERMON VIII. 



141 



have been a First Cause of all things, and 
this in all things is God. 

This great Being, incomprehensible by 
us, is possessed of all perfection. He is 
infinitely ivise, infinitely powerful, infinitely 
good, just, holy, and true. He, by his own 
Word, or, as St. John describes, his Son, 
called the visible world, consisting of the 
firmament, sun, moon, and stars, into ex- 
istence. He made the earth, upon which 
we dwell, and caused it to bring forth 
gifts, grass, herbs, and trees. He formed 
animals, to live upon, and to be nourished, 
in their various kinds, by its productions. 
He created man, as the governor of these 
under his appointment ; and, for this pur- 
pose, breathed into him a living soul, 
making him like unto himself, not in figure 
of bodily parts, but endowments of mind. 
He commanded also the fowls to fly under 
heaven. At his word, the waters were 
gathered into one place, and the wide seas 
appeared. In them grew living creatures, 
and inhabited the depths of the flood. 



142 



SERMON VIII. 



Having thus created all things, he extended 
his actual presence every where ; and, at 
every moment of time, being the Father, 
the Preserver as well as the Father, the 
Creator. All these particulars are included 
in your assent, when ye profess to believe 
" in God the Father Almighty, maker of 
heaven and earth. )} As Christians, ye be- 
lieve in God the Father, in another sense, 
as the Father of Jesus Christ, through 
whom, as the next article teaches, ye 
are made his sons by regeneration and 
adoption. 

The second Article of your faith is con- 
fined to a belief in your redemption. 

The redemption was promised, and won- 
derfully accomplished by that extraordinary 
Person, in whom ye profess to believe, 
Jesus Christ. 

The Creed gives you the name of this 
Redeemer, and points out the wonderful 
nature of his relationship with the Almighty, 
and his dominion over redeemed man. It 
shows by what means the salvation of the 



SERMON VTIT, 



143 



world was wrought, and consequently the 
circumstances of character, in which he 
appeared who was to effect it. 

I endeavoured to set all these distinctly 
before you, and to make them plain to the 
comprehension of the most ignorant hearer. 
I told you, " that Jesus meant your Saviour, 
and Christ the promised Messiah-/' that 
he was not merely, as we ourselves, a crea- 
ture of God, but his only Son ; " a Son, 
with whom no mortal being can claim a 
likeness, being of the same nature as his 
Father possesses in heaven ; that as he re- 
deemed us, he has a right to demand our 
service, or to be called " our Lord. 

The redemption of man requiring an 
atonement, it was necessary, that, in order 
to suffer the wages of sin for man, % e. 
death, he should appear in a condition 
capable of enduring the penalty. He was 
himself to become man, that, suffering as 
such, he might redeem man. Hence he, 
for awhile, left the seat of heaven, and, by 
a miraculous conception, expressed by the 



144 



SERMON VIII. 



words " he was conceived by the Holy 
Ghost/' (a mystery not given to weak man 
to know,) was born of a woman, in the 
ordinary appearance of a human infant; 
and, from the singular character, as well as 
family of his mother, fulfilled what had 
been all along foretold concerning his 
birth by prophets. After he had arrived 
at an age, when, according to the law of 
the Jews (among whom, being the poste- 
rity of Judah, as had been promised, he 
appeared), he was to begin the duties of a 
public ministry, he publicly assumed his 
character, attached to him followers, or 
disciples, taught heavenly and moral truths, 
explained prophecies and figures relating 
to himself, corrected the errors of all false 
sects among the Jews, and confirmed what 
he spake by the exercise of a divine power. 
He healed diseases at a touch ; raised the 
lame from their bed of sickness at a word; 
recalled the breath into bodies which it 
had forsaken, and changed the substances 
of things into new forms and quantity. 



SERMON VIII. 



145 



He turned water into wine, multiplied a 
few small loaves, so as to refresh a great 
multitude, and caused even the sea to be 
calm and still. When he had given suffi- 
cient evidence, by his words and works, 
that he was the Anointed, or the appointed 
Person, who was to cancel the original sin 
of man, the time came that he was to offer 
himself by bodily pain and dissolution, as 
the great ransom for all. Hence the Creed 
inserts, that " he suffered under Pontius 
Pilate, was crucified, and was dead'' 

I made it my business, in explaining 
these several particulars, to show that 
Jesus actually endured painful sufferings ; 
that he experienced inward sorrows from 
the obstinacy of sinners, and torments of 
body from the ill treatment of enraged 
enemies ; that he was wounded ; spat upon, 
insulted, and at length was fastened by 
his hands and feet, with nails, to a cross ; 
that in that painful situation, his strength 
being at length exhausted, he languished, 
and gave up his breath. I remarked to 

L 



SERMON VIII. 



you, that it was necessary he should die in 
this manner; at this time " he suffered 
under Pontius Pilate" because he was 
governor over the Jews, appointed by the 
Romans, their conquerors, at which period 
it was foretold " Christ should be cut off." 
He was crucified, because it was a Roman, 
not a Jewish punishment, and inflicted upon 
slaves; thereby proving what Isaiah had 
said, " that he should be rejected of men/' 
I particularly remarked, that the word 
dead was inserted in the Creed, because, 
as without the death of Christ, there could 
have been no means of satisfying the 
justice of God, and consequently no re- 
mission of sin ; it was necessary we should 
be assured that Christ really paid, by dying, 
the required price for our salvation. But 
not the death of Christ alone was expedient 
for the redemption of the world, but his 
resurrection also. All this is, step by step, 
learned from the Creed. Hence our Lord's 
body, as was foreshown by Jonah's con- 
finement in the whale, and foretold in the 



SERMON VIII. 



147 



Psalms by David, was laid in a grave, at 
which time his soul continued in a state of 
separation, as the souls of all departed 
men are reasonably believed to be : — this 
is expressed by his " descending into hell/' 
or going to the invisible state of all spirits. 
From this state, on the day appointed, 
" the third day/' (which I mentioned to 
you was exactly conformable to the mode 
of reckoning among the Jews,) it returned 
to its body, and was re-united to its former 
dwelling, restoring it again, by its prin- 
ciple of life, to sense and motion. Jesus 
burst the bars of the tomb, and appeared, 
as he had declared it should be, alive again. 

I did not pass this event by, because it 
is the great pillar of confidence to man, 
without an endeavour to place it upon a 
strong foundation. I brought together the 
proofs of our Lord's resurrection, as they 
arose, in their order. I began with the 
securing the place, where the corpse lay, 
by a stone, by a seal of the governor, by 
a band of soldiers. I proceeded to the 

l 2 



148 



SERMON VIII. 



pious office of the holy women in preparing 
spices for embalming their Master's body ; 
to their surprise, when they found the se- 
pulchre open ; to their looking in, and 
viewing the place, where the Lord had 
lain ; to the vision of two angels, who told 
them that he was risen ; to their haste, that 
they might inform the disciples ; to the 
running of Peter and John ; to the ap- 
pearing of Jesus himself to Mary ; to his 
coming on a sudden into the company of 
the disciples, who were assembled in pri- 
vacy, and the door shut ; to the testimony 
he offered them, " that he was again a 
living man, suffering them to handle him, 
and to examine the marks of the nails in 
his hands and feet ; to his granting to 
Thomas all the evidence he wished for, that 
he was a man, and the same man, suffering 
him to thrust his fingers into his side, which 
was wounded by a soldier's lance. I also 
directed your attention to the singular de- 
monstration he gave, " that he was, upon 
his rising again, possessed of the divine, 



SERMON VIII. 



149 



as well as human natures, perfect God and 
perfect man" by the miracle in the draught 
of fishes. All which matter, being brought 
together, was designed to strengthen your 
faith that Jesus did really rise from the 
grave, and that this body was not taken 
away by his own friends ', as the Jews had 
the lying boldness to spread among the 
people. I admonished you to remember, 
that the resurrection of Christ is the corner- 
stone of your religion, for our Lord himself 
made it so ; and that it is an earnest of 
you own, for ye also must rise again from 
death, after his example, " that ye may 
reign with him in Heaven/' Death being 
suffered and subdued, and thereby the 
wages of sin being for ever cancelled, it 
could not be necessary for the Saviour's 
continuing any longer upon the earth, or 
dwelling among men. He, therefore, at 
an appointed time, in the presence of his 
apostles, was taken up by a cloud into the 
air, and returned to God, his Father, in 
the realms above. He ascended into Heaven, 



150 



SERMON VIII. 



and sitteth on the right hand of God, the 
Father Almighty ; from whence he shall come 
to judge the quick and the dead." 

In the explanation of these Articles, I 
drew your observation to the circumstance, 
that Jesus ascended in the presence of a 
feiv only, because they, who saw him go 
up, were afterwards to preach it to the 
world, and, therefore, ought to have been 
assured that there was no deception. They 
had been with him at all times before and 
after his death ; they had every proof 
given them " that he was a ma?i" and 
that he was taken up from them in that form 
while he was blessing them with uplifted 
hands, and talking in their company. They 
hence derived the strong assurance, which 
nothing afterwards could weaken, that their 
Master returned to his Father in a human 
body, and with all the properties of man, and 
could encourage converts to the Christian 
faith, in the persuasion that they also as 
men were capable of a translation to 
Heaven. This Article is of the greatest 



SERMON VIII. 



151 



importance and consolation to us all, who 
hope and look for another life. 

I observed to you that the expressions 
" was seated at the right hand of God" are 
an allusion to the ancient custom of 
princes, in the Eastern world, of placing 
men whom they wished to honour upon 
their right hand. It was a mark both of 
respect and of power, and, therefore, &just 
figure to represent that glory to which 
Jesus was admitted by his Father, when 
he came back to him in triumph over 
satan, sin, and death. 

The Article "from whence he shall come 
to judge the quick and the dead" is of most 
awful import, and, therefore, called upon 
me for an earnest exhortation to you, that 
you would bear it at all times in your re- 
membrance. It forewarns you of the 
judgment ; at that dreadful period of time 
it teaches you that Christ shall again 
appear, and, in all the solemnity of a Judge, 
summon the souls of men to a trial, as well 
of those who have, in all ages, died, as of 



152 



SERMON VIII. 



those who shall be found alive (or the 
quick) at his coming. I dwelt upon this 
alarming scene, and showed that all men 
would be judged according to their degrees 
of knowledge, as Heathens, Jews, or Chris- 
tians, and according to their works. This 
second Article of your faith was circum- 
stantially drawn out by the compilers of 
the Creed, because it contained the several 
steps which were necessary to lead to your 
redemption through Christ Jesus. 

The third Article of your faith compre- 
hends what ye are called upon to believe 
in the doctrine of the Holy Ghost. 

As the nature of the Spirit, his relation- 
ship with the Father and the Son, consist- 
ing of the same essence and the different 
distinctions of Persons between them, are 
incomprehensible by us, and not to be 
demonstratively explained by man to his 
satisfaction, I remarked to you, that it 
must be no less a presumptuous than useless 
anxiety to pretend to more than is given 
us ; that it is both folly and wickedness not 



SERMON VIII. 



153 



to believe what the Scriptures declare to be 
true ; that it is a mark of a humble mind to 
be content and to be satisfied ; " that God 
would have granted us greater powers had 
they been necessary for our happiness here, 
or salvation hereafter/' 

We learn the essential existence of the 
Holy Spirit from the title given him by 
our Lord, " the Comforter/' In this 
name we behold the great Teacher, the 
Sanctifier ; the governor of our hearts by 
his grace or secret influence ; the controller 
of our sinful passions ; the softener of our 
sorrows ; the reconciler to death ; the en- 
courager to meet our Judge at his day of 
retribution. We are therefore directed to 
cherish him in our hearts, and to pray 
" that he may never be taken from us/' 

The remaining Articles of our Creed I 
told you were added as the distinguishing 
marks of us who are of the Reformed 
Church, and designed to correct the errors 
of the Romish and other dissenting esta- 
blishments. 



154 



SERMON VIII. 



By Church I mentioned to you is meant 
the assembly of Christian people in the 
name of their Redeemer, and in faith of 
him to worship God. By Catholic, the 
general meeting of Christians, ivherever 
they may be dispersed over the face of the 
whole earth. 

By the communion of Saints, the right 
of fellowship ; good will and charity among 
the true believers here, and the enjoy- 
ment of the company of all the blessed in 
Heaven. 

By the forgiveness of sins I explained to 
you, was meant the certainty of all sins 
being remitted to us, even though they are 
committed after baptism, upon true re- 
pentance. This I told you was denied by 
some sects, who had no authority from 
Scripture for their assertion. 

The resurrection of the body has been 
fully argued from reason, and confirmed 
from Scripture to you. It declares that at 
God's summons we shall arise from the 
dust again ; that our souls shall be re- 



SERMON VIII. 



155 



admitted into our bodies, being made by 
the power of God capable of receiving 
them ; and that in them we shall suffer 
pain, or be rewarded with bliss, as we shall 
die either in our sins or with unfeigned 
repentance. 

Lastly, I set before you the declarations 
of Scripture concerning the eternal nature 
of rewards and punishments. 

We are apt to encourage the notion of 
the former, and as apt to discourage the 
threatenings of the latter. But let us not 
cast such a veil before us by our own flat- 
tering modes of reasoning as to forget 
what our Lord said : " The wicked shall go 
into everlasting punishment, but the righ- 
teous into life eternal!' 

If this eternity affright us, it should be 
an argument to fly to our hope, " our 
redemption ; " and to amend our ways, 
which will bring us to such misery before 
we die. It should be an argument to the 
reprobate to repent that they, through 
Christ Jesus, may be made happy. 



156 



SERMON VIII. 



I have in this manner expounded the 
whole of the Creed, and shall be sufficiently 
rewarded if I have opened your under- 
standings, and shown you what it is " to be 
Christians" 



AN EXPLANATION 

OF 

€Jje %otti$ draper* 

IN TWO PARTS. 
PART I. 



A SERMON. 



SERMON I. 



St. Matt. vi. 9, 10. 

After this manner pray ye — Our Father which art in 
Heaven, hallowed be thy name. 

Thy kingdom come ; thy will be done in Earth, as it is in 
Heaven. 



John the Baptist, the forerunner of our 
Lord, in order to prepare the way for the 
preaching of the great Messiah, had ga- 
thered to him a mixed multitude of disci- 
ples, and called upon them, in their differ- 
ent characters, to repentance and amend- 
ment of life. The followers who had 
attached themselves to him had received 
from their Master a mode for offering up 
their prayers, and had been taught a parti- 
cular form of words, suited to the circum- 
stances of his ministry. 

The disciples of Jesus, afterwards, when 
he had begun his teaching, requested him 



160 



SERMON I. 



to give them also a rule for the petitions 
which they were to make, as believers in 
him. 

Our Lord, in his usual condescension, 
and with a desire that both they and all 
who should become converts to his Gospel 
might address his heavenly Father in a 
manner most acceptable to him, and most 
profitable to themselves, was pleased to 
deliver to them a compendium, or summary 
of all such requests, which, both as men 
and followers of Christ, it was their duty to 
ask of God, and most necessary for them to 
receive. 

This general sketch of human wants, 
and of the means whereby God might be 
glorified, being comprised in a few, but 
most significant, sentences, is called, by 
way of distinction from all others, in re- 
membrance of its author, " The Lord's 
Prayer" 

This being rendered familiar to Chris- 
tians from the earliest days of their youth, 
and continued through their lives, as a 



SERMON I. 



161 



material part, both of public and private 
devotion, it is daily indeed in their lips, 
but its meaning often not thoroughly 
understood. 

I shall take the present opportunity of 
explaining some of its contents in as plain 
a method as I can conceive, hoping that 
they who hear me may derive some know- 
ledge from the explanation, in addition to 
what they before had considered as its 
general import. The younger part, as they 
possibly have paid no material attention to 
the subject, may draw from it much, and 
not unuseful information, 

The great object of all universal worship 
is God. This Almighty Being, from the 
creation and preservation of the world, is 
reverenced under the name of Father. 
With this, therefore, the Prayer naturally 
opens. It is then distinguished into three 
parts ; 1. An Invocation, or calling upon 
the Father. 2. The Petitio?is. 3. The Doxo- 
logy, so called from Greek derivation, sig- 
nifying the giving of glory. 

M 



SERMON I, 



1. With respect to the Invocation, as I 
above mentioned, it begins with an appeal 
to the Author of all things, as the powerful 
and benignant Parent of us all, as crea- 
tures, and, therefore, in a common sense, 
styled our, ov of us, as Christians, in par- 
ticular. Under the former character we 
are his children by creation; under the 
latter by adoption, through his Son, Christ 
Jesus. 

The dwelling of the earth, upon which 
we live, is found by every one subject to 
different kinds of imperfections, liable to 
change and misery, the seat of sin. We 
conceive that such a habitation is unfit for 
the residence of so perfect a Being, and, 
therefore, we assign to him a supposed 
place of all happiness, which we deno- 
minate Heaven. It is not to be drawn 
from hence, that we believe him to be 
essentially absent from any part of the 
world, which he made, but that there is 
one region separate from all other, where, 
in the company of spirits, superior in 



SERMON I. 



163 



nature and order to ourselves, he displays 
the brightness of his visible presence. 

Under the awful veneration of the 
Deity, so encircled with glory, we natu- 
rally express homage, and a due sense of 
his holiness. — " Hallowed be thy name!' 

The name of God in Scripture, particu- 
larly in the book of Deuteronomy, where 
the Israelites are enjoined to swear by his 
name, has the same signification as God 
himself. To " hallow" is to make holy, 
to think of as holy, to pray to as holy, to 
act towards as holy. This is said in con- 
tradiction to ourselves, who are the unholy, 
and therefore expressive of the great dis- 
tance between him, who is to accept, and 
those who are to present their supplication, 
and shews humility. 

2. The Invocation being thus made, the 
petitions follow, the chief object of all 
prayer. 

These are six in number ; two respect 
the glory of God ; four the wants of men. 
The former are these : " Thy kingdom 

m 2 



164 



SERMON I. 



come, thy will be done in earth as it is in 
heaven." I shall endeavour to give an 
explanation of these before I proceed to 
point out the latter. 

" The kingdom of God" is used by us 
here in very different senses. The grand 
system of creation, in which all things, 
both in Heaven above, and in the earth 
beneath, move, and have their being, 
under the divine command and providence, 
is, in the first and obvious interpretation, 
God's kingdom. 

The knowledge of him, as the sole Crea- 
tor and Upholder of the universe, in oppo- 
sition to the corrupt notions of idolatry, is 
in a second sense his kingdom. This know- 
ledge, extended from the light of nature, 
or conscience, to the communications of 
himself to mankind, by prophets and other 
inspired men, and, above all, by his Son, 
Christ Jesus, so as to cause God to reign 
in the hearts of his creatures, is another 
meaning of the word kingdom. 

Before the coming of our Saviour into 



SERMON I. 



165 



the world, it is well known that the domi- 
nion of sin and Satan had been spread 
through all unenlightened nations ; this 
was destroyed by the influence of the 
Holy Spirit, which was sent down, as 
Christ promised and foretold from Heaven, 
as a free gift of illuminating mercy to 
mankind, and, therefore, called grace. 
Where this operates it promotes the honour 
of the true God, and roots up all the esta- 
blished prejudices of idolatrous and erring 
superstition. This creates, as it were, a 
new people to the Almighty, and is implied 
in this prayer, under the term kingdom. 

But the ultimate design of God in reveal- 
ing himself to man, and especially in his 
suffering his only Son to come down from 
Heaven for their redemption, was that he 
might reign with them in everlasting bliss ; 
that his enemy, Satan, being cast beneath 
his feet, he might appoint the redeemed by 
his Son to sit round his throne for ever 
and ever. This is the last sense of the 
word kingdom—" the kingdom of future 
glory." 



166 



SERMON I. 



We pray that this kingdom may come, 
i. e. that it may proceed in its course, for 
the several purposes for which it was or- 
dained — 1st. That they who know not the 
true God, but worship wood and stone (as all 
the savage inhabitants of the earth), may 
have their eyes opened, and behold the 
Lord. 2dly. That all who know him in 
creation, may see him in redemption, the Fa- 
ther of all things made by him, and of Jesus 
Christ, whom he sent. 3dly. That the 
blessing of the Holy Ghost may confer the 
gifts of grace, and lead believers to a holy 
life. 4thly. That the means of grace, poured 
down on mankind, may so improve their 
earthly conversation, as to entitle them to a 
place in the assembly of saints above, when, 
at the consummation of all the divine 
councils, the new heavens shall open, and 
admit within their courts the souls of the 
righteous, for an eternal praise to him who 
is King of kings, and Lord of lords. 

2. The next petition, which follows the 
" kingdom/' relates to the will of God : 



SERMON I. 



167 



4 6 thy ivill be done in earth as it is in 
heave?i." 

The will of God is of two kinds ; 1st. His 
secret, or that by which, known only to him- 
self, he regulates the administration of his 
universal dominion, and from before the 
foundation of the visible world, he deter- 
mined at what precise period the firma- 
ment and the earth should come into being ; 
what aeras should mark particular men and 
things ; in what state of mankind the 
Messiah should appear : hoiv long the 
gospel shall continue before the final com- 
pletion of its promises ; and at what time, 
and by what means, the earth being dis- 
solved, the creation of a second world shall 
begin. All these events, not having been 
imparted to the comprehension or inform- 
ation of man, belong to God's secret or 
uncommanicated will. 

2. The second kind of God's will is the 
revealed. The private counsels of his own 
all-wise mind God was pleased, " at sundry 
times and in divers manners/' as it seemed 



168 



SERMON I. 



best to himself, to lay open, or unfold to 
the sons of men. Hence the covenants 
with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and other 
favoured personages of old were made ; 
hence that especial light cast upon the un- 
derstanding of prophets and seers : hence 
the notices in dreams and visions ; but 
above all, after the express appointment of 
the Jewish religion, by the visible display 
of his presence on Mount Sinai, was to 
cease, the more full discovery of himself 
and attributes, by the coming and preach- 
ing of Christ Jesus. 

If it shall be his pleasure to make any 
further communication of himself hereafter, 
all that may, in this way, be done, must 
be included in the word " will" The 
subject of prayer is this, " that it may be 
done'' We pray, that if our Father shall 
have reserved to himself any plans for his 
government, which it is not permitted us 
to know, they may, at a due season, and in 
his own wisdom, be accomplished ; that if 
they shall relate to the continuance, hap- 



SERMON I. 



169 



piness, or misery of our lives, they may 
come to pass ; that if they respect the day 
of our death, or appearance before him in 
judgment, we may meet them with re- 
signation. 

We pray also, that we may have the 
power to do the will revealed to us : i. e. 
that we may consult his word, under all 
the different dispensations ; mark the pro- 
gress of knowledge, as it arose to the en- 
lightened mind ; trace the various statutes 
and ordinances to their causes; observe 
the several injunctions, shudder at the 
threats, embrace the promises, as well of 
the old as of the new covenant ; and use 
our earnest endeavours to accommodate 
their design to our actions, their tendency 
to our practice, their spirit to our faith- 
fulness. 

We further pray, that " the will of God 
may be done in earth as it is in heaven" 

When we consider the number of the 
stars, whose distance from our earth is im- 
mense, and they as endless to tell as the 



170 



SERMON I. 



sands of the sea, common reason suggests 
to us the magnitude of creation, and the 
boundless works of an Almighty hand. 
We hence, even without revelation, should 
argue that there must be other habitable 
spheres, and that they, who dwell in them, 
are of a nature adapted to their appointed 
station and allotments. But revelation 
assists our reason, and the Scriptures in 
various parts have told us, that there are 
servants of the Most High of a different 
substance from ourselves, and endowed 
with spiritual properties ; not, as our Lord 
defined them, consisting of flesh and bone, 
the texture of the the human body ; but of 
more pure and refined qualities, suited to 
their immediate attendance upon the Al- 
mighty. These are expressly named his 
messengers, or angels, the ministers, or 
servants, to execute his commanded pur- 
poses ; whether they are to remain in his 
constant presence, to sing to their harps in 
songs of never -ceasing praise ; or, as there 
is every reason both to hope and think, 



SERMON I. 



171 



are despatched from the realms above to 
defend good men upon earth, to comfort 
them in all their trials, and in particular to 
support them under the agony of their 
dissolution. The Holy Scriptures speak 
of these messengers as having been sent 
upon various occasions : as at the expulsion 
of Adam from paradise ; to Jacob in his 
dream; to go before the Hebrews after 
their rebellious murmurs, instead of God 
himself ; to Balaam, the soothsayer ; to the 
armies of the Lord against his enemies ; to 
the three young men in Nebuchadnezzar s 
furnace ; to Daniel in the den of lions, and 
to others in the Old Testament. Many 
also are the instances in the New — Gabriel 
appeared to Mary. The angel showed the 
will of God to Joseph in a dream. After 
the success of our Lord's temptation angels 
ministered unto him. In the garden of 
Gethsemane an angel comforted him. His 
resurrection was known, and the truth of 
his ascension confirmed, by angels. The 
apostles were set free from prison by an 



172 



SERMON I. 



angel ; an angel struck Herod, and he was 
eaten up of worms. These several proofs 
establish the doctrine, that there are hea- 
venly messengers who bear the commands 
of God. 

If there are such, the next inquiry is in 
what manner they perform their appointed 
service, with what obedience they execute 
the charge committed to their hands ? In 
the way of illustration, let us consider 
what constitutes a servant upon earth. 
Who is justly called a good servant to his 
master among men ? Is not he who respects 
his person, preserves his property entrusted 
to him, hears him with humility, orders all 
things as he is directed with faithfulness ; 
and despatches the business of his office 
with readiness, zeal, and quickness. If these 
be the amiable requisites of a servant to 
an earthly master, how much greater in 
their degree and refinement must be those 
which are the essential properties of the 
heavenly P If it be the characterizing mark 
of an obedient servant here below to hold 



SERMON I. 



173 



his master's person in veneration, it can 
require little force of argument to prove, 
that the angels of heaven must behold the 
face of their Almighty Lord with greater 
fear and love, for he is all gracious, all holy, 
all powerful. If it be a material part of a 
servant's duty to listen to and to discharge 
the appointment of labour which he has 
at any time in command from his master 
on earth, it must be in an unspeakable 
extent of service, in the ministers of light, 
to obey him with fidelity, whose message 
cannot but be at all times just and right ; 
benevolent for the commissioned to bear, 
and important for the regularity of all 
created beings, whether they be as them- 
selves spirits or mortal men. Lastly, if it 
be the true sign of a servant's office to 
deliver what is entrusted to his care with 
despatch, what can be thought must be 
the swiftness of the ministers who are 
compared to fire P As that element is most 
searching, and when fuel is prepared quick 
in its instantaneous effects, so must be the 



174 



SERMON I. 



rapid course of the angelic host, when they 
carry in their speed the behests of God. 

Our Lord in his Prayer makes it a part 
of petition to our Heavenly Father, that 
we may be as ready to minister before him, 
to serve as gladly, as faithfully, as free in 
oar steps, as the angels on high are who 
serve the Lord. 

If the present congregation shall have 
derived any information, or satisfactory 
pleasure, from the explanation given of 
these two petitions, I shall have no scruple 
in requiring their attendance when, by 
God's blessing, I shall at this hour of the 
next Lord's Day proceed to the consider- 
ation of the four which remain. 



N EXPLANATION 

OF 

IN TWO PARTS, 

PART II. 



A SERMON. 



SERMON II. 



St. Matt. vi. 11, 12, 13. 

Give us this day our daily bread ; and forgive us our debts, 

as we forgive our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For 

thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 

ever. Amen. 



I shall now resume the explanation of 
the Lord's Prayer, and endeavour to set 
before this congregation the four petitions, 
which contain the general wants of men. 

As it is thejirst and natural desire of 
all to be furnished with the means by 
which their existence upon earth may be 
rendered comfortable to themselves, and 
to the several branches of their family, it 
cannot but appear most reasonable, that 
in their address to the great God, who is 
the Author and Dispenser of every good, 
he would be pleased to bestow, with a kind 



ITS 



SERMON II. 



and bountiful hand, whatever is requisite 
for the convenience and comfort of their 
present condition. As food is the principal 
support of man's life, the first of these 
petitions makes a humble application to 
the Almighty, that he will afford to all 
who seek him their ordinary substance: 
" Give us this day our daily bread." The 
word bread, though, in its first sense, it 
conveys to us the single gift expressed by 
the term itself, is of a more comprehensive 
meaning than many among us may ima- 
gine. It not only implies bread which we 
eat, and, under that name, every species 
of aliment, but also what is connected 
with the enjoyment of this apparel and 
habitation. 

It would be but a small part of the sup- 
port necessary for life were there wanting 
clothing for the protection of our bodies, 
or a dwelling prepared against the change 
of inclement seasons. 

Man would live for himself only, or no 
societies or happy intercourse of civiliza- 



SERMON II. 



179 



tion be established upon the earthy were 
there a total want of garments to cover the 
limbs, or no security of an abode to shelter 
him from outward injury ; under the ex- 
pression bread, therefore, are to be un- 
derstood, in addition to the literal meaning, 
house and raiment. But further, it is not 
merely indispensable that these aids 
should be supplied, but that the bodies and 
minds of men should be preserved in such 
a state as to give them strength to provide, 
or gather by their labour, what the good- 
ness of God thus places in their hands ; 
that they should have firmness of limbs to 
hew down the trees of the forest, and to 
cultivate their lands ; so that the fields 
may be full of corn, and the pastures of 
sheep and cattle. 

This is sufficiently shown in that word of 
the Prayer, " give/' For, although the 
produce of the earth be the gift of God, 
and he, in bountiful indulgence, dispenses 
it to his creatures, yet he requires industry 
on their part ; he calls upon them to imi- 

n 2 



180 



SERMON II. 



tate the busy ant, and, from its diligent 
example, to rouse themselves from a slug- 
gish stupidity to a lively application ; to sow, 
if they mean to reap ; to employ their 
hands, if they wish to enjoy the fruits of 
the ground. From God is to be expected 
a blessing only upon man's endeavours, not 
a profuse abundance upon his indolence. 

As the texture of our bodies and tem- 
pers of our minds have occasion for con- 
stant renewal ; and, as one day succeeds 
to another, call for a continuance for their 
common sustenance, in this petition is, with 
great propriety, added " daily." Many 
refined explanations of this word have been 
given, such as " day by day/' sufficient for 
the coming day — " what is merely expe- 
dient, instead of what is abundant" It 
cannot, however, be more properly and 
significantly translated, than as it stands 
in the Prayer. 

2. The next petition, with the greatest 
propriety, follows the former, " Forgive us 
our trespasses, as we forgive them that tres- 



SERMON II. 



181 



pass against us" or "forgive us our debts, 
as we forgive our debtors" 

In the former petition, prayer is made 
to the Father of all for his benign assist- 
ance to men, as his creatures. In this he 
is addressed for his mercy to sinners. As 
men, we invoke him by the general claim 
of preservation ; as sinful men, we sue for 
the pardon of transgressions. It is not 
necessary to dwell upon the entailed guilt 
of all who were born from Adam, and the 
inherent propensity in us all to evil. Both 
our own hearts and practices, which tend 
too often to sorrow and misery, convince 
us, " that we are and must be amenable to 
punishment, and the just objects of the 
divine wrath/' It must, therefore, be a 
duty, as it certainly is to our interest, to 
supplicate the offended Majesty of God, 
" that he will, at all times, be inclined to 
spare, when we deserve his vengeance; and 
to remit the severity of his indignation, 
when we provoke him by our crimes." The 
offences of men are called by our Lord, 



182 



SERMON II. 



debts ; and offenders, debtors ; by which 
terms are to be understood, that sins com- 
mitted, and sinners who commit them, in- 
cur a penalty, as a debt or due to them, 
from a merited and wronged avenger. 

When this petition, however, is offered 
to the throne of all compassion, it should 
be remembered by suppliants, that it must 
be an inconsistency to implore the remis- 
sion of wickedness, if bad men do not 
reflect with themselves before whom they 
prostrate their bodies, and how just and 
holy he is, who is to accept their prayer. 
A sinner, who has no sorrow for what he 
hath done, hath no sense of his miserable 
condition, nor a desire to reform, can have 
little pretence to ask for a veil to be cast 
over his unworthiness. Unless the heart 
be penitent, the words of the tongue can 
be expected to have but little avail with 
him who is of purer eyes than to behold 
determined iniquity. 

The second clause of this petition is most 
highly deserving of regard. It teaches 



SERMON II. 



183 



the obvious obligation imposed upon men, 
however unwilling they may be, from the 
feelings of injuries received, or from secret 
prejudices, springing from any source, to 
be forward in overlooking faults against 
themselves. A readiness to display that for- 
bearance and forgiveness to our neighbour, 
when he offends, must well become us, 
when, in the house of God, we fall upon 
our knees, lift up our hands, and beseech 
with our lips, that an all-merciful Father 
will avert the stroke of his fury from our 
own head. 

The necessity of this temper is so strong, 
that our blessed Saviour, when he had re- 
peated the Prayer to his disciples, was 
pleased to mark the injunction, by an ex- 
press addition to what he had before deli- 
vered. " If" says he, " ye forgive not 
men their trespasses, neither will your hea- 
venly Father forgive your trespasses!' 

With how blind a presumption then 
must all unthinking dissemblers approach 
the footstool of God! With how contra- 



184 



SEHMON II. 



dictory lips must they repeat the Prayer 
of their Master and Saviour, when, at the 
moment of utterance, they hope for a 
blessing to themselves, and yet inwardly 
harbour a rancorous hatred, or, perhaps a 
deadly curse against their neighbour ! Our 
Lord thus remarked of similar hypocrites 
in his time : "In vain do they worship/' 
There can subsist no difference whether 
this Prayer be said in a private chamber, 
or in the public temple, as to the frame of 
heart which ought to accompany it; for 
the eyes of God are equally true in dis- 
cerning sincerity, whether it be presented 
to him in the closet or & congregation. A 
malicious man can, therefore, have no 
more real access to his Almighty God, 
than the vilest reprobate ; if he bears " war 
in his heart" it will be of no use that his 
" words are smoother than oil" 

3. The next petition has in view the 
state of trial to which all mankind are ex- 
posed, as the test of their uprightness and 
self-denial — " Lead us not into temptation" 



SERMON II. 



185 



The term temptation is made use of in this 
place by our Lord, as it is also in most 
parts of Scripture, to signify any dangerous 
attempt which may be made, either from 
the solicitation of our own corrupt hearts, 
or the allurements of bad examples, to draw 
us off from our integrity. Whatever person 
or thing shall have the power to iveaken 
our steadfastness in virtue, or, for a mo- 
ment, to create a wavering mind, so that, 
in the end, our innocence may be forfeited, 
may be said to tempt. 

Thus the evil spirit made his deceitful 
approaches to our blessed Saviour in the 
Avilderness ; the design of all his artful pro- 
posals was to tempt him to sin. And our 
Lord, in his baffling reply, said to him, 
" thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." 

Upon another occasion also Jesus ap- 
plied the expression in the same sense. 
When at the time of his agony in the gar- 
den his disciples, from fatigue and sorrow, 
had fallen asleep, he called to them, say- 
ing, " rise and pray, lest ye enter into 
temptation/' 



186 



SERMON II. 



These references are of themselves suffi- 
cient to show what is contained in the 
word temptation, as found in this Prayer. 
But trial is not to be dispensed with, if the 
genuine nature of religious virtue is to be 
Mown. Gold is tried in the furnace, and 
the valour of the heart is confirmed by 
dangers. Why then should we pray that 
we may not be tried, or tempted f The an- 
swer is, that we do not pray against trials 
themselves, but that God would give us a 
power to resist them; his presence in the 
suffering ; and his arm in overcoming them ; 
that our faith may remain unshaken ; that, 
as Abraham was, when it shall be his plea- 
sure to put our fidelity to the proof, we 
may be obedient, and not stand alone, 
bereft of his providence to sustain us. 

Thus the Apostle says in his Epistle to 
the Hebrews, " God is faithful, who will 
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye 
are able; but will, with the temptation, 
make a ivay also to escape. 

To this interpretation we are brought by 



SERMON II. 



187 



the word lead, i. e. bring us, either by an 
unsuspected surprise, the proneness of our 
appetites, or the false colouring of wicked 
companions, into such snares, as, when 
thou art absent from us, may entangle our 
feet, and cause us to fall. 

4, The last petition is closely connected 
with the foregoing, "but deliver us from evil!' 
It seems to have this consequent significa- 
tion: "Not only, O Father, lead us not 
into temptation, but save us in this time of 
danger" The word evil admits of two in- 
terpretations. It is either intended to 
comprise all the troubles which may de- 
stroy our happiness, whether of body or 
mind in general, or is confined to the author 
of them, " the evil spirit" If the former 
be the right meaning, we pray against evil 
things ; if the latter, against the Evil One. 

Evil things are as numberless almost as 
the sand of the sea- shore. They compre- 
hend whatever may affect the well-being of 
all mankind, whether they relate to pros- 
perity, freedom from dangers and misfor- 



188 



SERMON II. 



tunes through accidents, or the health of 
our limbs, and even death itself. When 
these things shall be unfavourable and af- 
flicting ; when worldly affairs shall mis- 
carry; when casualties shall throw us 
down; when sickness shall deprive us of for- 
mer vigour, and bring on gradual dissolution, 
who will not be ready to call them " evils. 3 ' 
The " Evil One" requires no studied proof 
that he merits the denomination. If the 
success of Satan's first temptation was an 
evil, if the trials he has from that time 
pursued, in order to draw off mankind 
from all duty to their Maker, be an evil ; 
if the attempt he made to frustrate the mer- 
ciful design of the Almighty in sending his 
Son from Heaven, by insidiously exciting 
Jesus to rebellion, to a distrust in God, to a 
wicked presumption, and, what had been 
the cause of his own fall, to an impious 
ambition, be " evil ; " if, after the Gospel 
had been preached by its heavenly Author, 
and, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, 
spread, through the labours of the Apostles, 



SERMON II. 



189 



among remote nations, he raised all op- 
position to its progress, and has never ceased 
to allure the generations of men to every 
sin, be " evil/' then, with justice, may he 
be called the " Evil One" and be a proper 
subject of deprecation, when men join in 
prayer to their Maker. From this thing or 
person we pray, as our Lord taught, that 
we may be delivered. 

When such enemies endanger our safety, 
what petition can be more agreeable to 
reason than that which implores a rescue 
from them ; a poiverful intervention to 
counteract their malignant influence ; a 
hope to disappoint them; a stay to repel 
them? In these trials God alone can be 
the fortress and deliverer ; it is, therefore, 
wisdom to apply to him as the great de- 
fender. 

Having, in this way, endeavoured to il- 
lustrate the Petitions in the Lord's Prayer, 
I shall pass on to the Doxology. This word 
is of Greek derivation, and signifies the 
giving glory to God, by acknowledging 



190 



SERMON II. 



and declaring his universal dominion, his 
uncontrollable and boundless authority, 
and, what must be the natural result of 
these, his praise and honour through all the 
world, in all ages ; among all nations ; at 
every period of time, in its course, and 
the constant succession of it, from ever- 
lasting to everlasting — " for thine is the 
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
for ever" To thee, our Father, do we 
open our hearts, and beseech thee to hear 
us, because thou art the Sovereign Ruler ; 
because in thee dwells the ability to grant 
all we ask ; because, as long as the sun 
shall endure, the blessings conferred upon 
man, created and redeemed, shall be to 
thy praise. 

It is to be observed to you, that this last 
part of the prayer, " the Doxology" is 
omitted by St. Luke, and that some of the 
Church Fathers have, upon that account, 
left no explanation of it. But this is no 
proof that it did not constitute the part, 
as placed by St. Matthew, in his prayer ; 



SERMON II. 



191 



for, as may be shown in many instances, 
the Evangelists, either for brevity, or to 
prevent the suspicion of writing in con- 
cert, passed over many circumstances 
recorded bv each other, so that what 
one had inserted was not witnessed by 
another in his writings. If, however, it 
were not so, there are as many advo- 
cates of ancient authority for it as 
against it ; and, in itself, it is perfectly 
agreeing with the spirit of the invoca- 
tion, and the several petitions contained 
in the Prayer. 

The whole concludes with a solemn 
word of assent — Amen. It was the usage 
of the Hebrews to conclude their forms of 
supplication with this emphatical expres- 
sion. It implies an unfeigned intimation, 
" that the heart consents to what the voice 
hath uttered ; " it is, as it were, a seal to 
the truth of what hath been just before 
spoken ; it retraces the several steps of the 
petitions, and confirms the contents by a 
full approbation, as thus : when we call 



192 



SERMON II. 



upon God the Father to hear us ; when we 
lay open the secrets of our hearts before 
him ; when we pray for his great and kind 
protection, grounding the whole with a full 
reliance upon his power ; before we have 
finished, we add this short and comprehen- 
sive acknowledgement of our soul: "We 
thus have prayed, because we have an as- 
surance that what we ash is according to our 
real wants, and will be to the furtherance of 
thy glory" Thus have I attempted to 
expound, in as familiar and easy a way as 
I could judge of, and yet in a full manner, 
that important and comfortable form of 
prayer which was given by Christ Jesus 
to his disciples. 

There is in its spirit and contents so 
expressible a signification, that, whenever 
it is repeated, it raises a fresh delight in 
every thoughtful bosom. It will be a 
sufficient reward for my labours in this 
brief exposition, if ye who hear me shall 
better understand its meaning ; and, 
whether ye offer it in private, or with 



SERMON II. 193 

your fellow Christians, in praising God, 
ye shall find your desire of worship more 
strong, and the ardour of your demotion 
increased. 

END OF THE LORD's PRAYER. 



o 



AN EXPLANATION 

OF 

JN FOUR PARTS. 
PART I. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON I 



St. Matt. vi. 13. 

Deliver us from evil. 



The duty of prayer must be acknow- 
ledged by all men who are sensible of their 
own weakness, and acknowledge themselves 
dependant on a superior Creator. 

It is not, however, in the power of all to 
express what they wish, or to frame their 
words according to their necessities or the 
feelings of their hearts. 

Prayers are of two kinds : first, such as 
are offered to deprecate, i. e. to pray for 
deliverance from evils ; or to supplicate, i. e. 
to offer petitions for the attainment of good. 

The Psalmist was at all times earnest in 
his application to God for his favour, or 
the hearing of his requests: " Hear my 
crying" says he, " O God; give ear unto 



198 



SERMON I. 



my prayer'' The learned and upright men 
who formed the Liturgy of our Church, 

e. the substantial compendium of service, 
by which the Reformed Christians of the 
English Establishment may worship their 
Maker in the name of Jesus Christ more 
purely and readily, thought proper to draw 
up a kind of summary, by which petition- 
ers, in their application to the Almighty, 
might entreat him to avert his anger, and 
pour upon them his blessings. 

This form is comprehended in that part 
of the Church service which is called the 
Litany. 

The word Litany signifies a rule of 
prayer, and is derived from a Greek word 
bearing that meaning. When, therefore, 
it is appointed to be read, it is the business 
of all who hear to consider it as con- 
taining what they ought to pray against 
and for, i. e. to avert evil, and to obtain 
good. 

There is a regular chain, as it were, of 
prayer in this composition ; and I shall 



SERMON I. 



199 



earnestly wish to imprint each part, as they 
follow, upon the minds of this congrega- 
tion ; and, that ye may understand the 
connexion more easily and comprehensively, 
it may be proper to turn to the particular 
parts in your Book of Prayer, and accom- 
pany me as I shall give the explanation of 
them. 

It should be remarked to you, that a 
particular mode of application to the throne 
of the Divine Mercy was, in some way or 
other, made use of by the primitive be- 
lievers, in the early ages of the Church, 
and received both alterations and additions 
as they were peculiarly calculated for the 
state of Christians, who, either in their 
moral or political character, were to make 
them the subject of their addresses to the 
great Creator of all mankind. 

Conceiving it of little or 720 use to you 
who are now present to mention at what 
particular periods the form of the Litany 
was changed, and with what difference used 
in the course of the public service, or the 



200 



SERMON I. 



appropriate place where it was read, either 
before the altar 9 or in the most central spot, 
and not, as now, in the general mass of 
ordinary prayers, I shall, as of most conse- 
quence, direct your minds to its several 
parts, and draw your attention to the dis- 
criminating subject of the sev eral connected 
sentences. These, from constant usage and 
familiarity, which are well known to deface 
first impressions, may, in some degree, have 
escaped your observation. 

The Litany, as ye, if ye accompany me 
as I set out and proceed, will find, opens 
with a general confession " that we are 
amenable to the wrath of God, in conse- 
quence of our inward infirmities — the weak- 
ness of our nature, and the contraction of 
actual guilt." We approach the Majesty 
of an offended God, acknowledging our- 
selves sinners. — " O God" &c. 

In the next place it is to be observed, 
that God is called upon in the same three- 
fold character, as represented by our 
blessed Saviour, and standing in the doc- 



SERMON I. 



201 



trine of the Trinity :— the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Ghost. Under each name 
God is entreated to hear, and, according 
to the character of the several Persons, of 
whom the One God consists, to have 
mercy* 

The great design of this Invocation, or 
the calling upon God to lend his ear, is the 
remission of sin. 

As all sin naturally (from the first curse) 
subjects the guilty transgressors to the 
punishment denounced for the breach of 
the divine laws, the first petition deprecates 
or prays to turn away vengeance, as well as 
that which is justly due to every individual 
transgression of each suppliant, as to the 
offences of all human beings, upon whom 
antecedent or once committed wickedness 
may by inheritance entail a penalty from 
their descent or generation. 

M Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor 
the offences of our forefathers " 

After this general deprecation or entreaty 
to turn away wrath, follows a series of 



202 



SERMON h 



such evils as the life of man is most com- 
monly found to experience, and from 
which mankind cannot but earnestly wish 
to obtain a deliverance. 

That the several Articles, as it were, of 
collective evils may make a stronger im- 
pression upon the hearts of suppliants, 
they are not confounded together in a com- 
plicated mass, nor classed with each other 
in one long body of prayer ; but, that they 
may not be of a burthensome weight to 
the mind, are frequently interrupted by a 
humble request to God, " that he, in his 
goodness, would deliver them who pray to 
him from the sufferings of them/' 

" Good Lord " we say, " deliver us." 

You will take notice from the Litany, 
that the first and principal cause of sorrow 
and trouble to man is sin. All wickedness 
proceeding from the wiles of the tempter 
subjects those who fall into his snares and 
delusions to the just indignation of God, 
and the danger of eternal rejection by 
him. It is therefore the natural beginning 



SEKMON I. 



203 



of all prayer, " that we may escape from the 
toils themselves which Satan lays for our 
feet, and their dreadful consequence — 
" everlasting damnation" 

In the next place, the general subject 
being despatched, the worshippers, as we 
are, descend to particulars. 

The prayers in this kind are of two 
natures. The first respect our own minds 
and bodies only ; the second relate to our- 
selves and others, as connected with us in 
the bonds of society, or members of one 
country \ Church, or condition. 

With respect to the mind supplication is 
offered, " that it may be taught humility ; " 
that it may conceive and entertain notions 
suitable to the weakness of its condition ; 
may shun pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy ; 
i. e. that it may not wilfully cast such a 
shade over its own eye, " that seeing it 
may not see ; " that it may not encourage 
self-sufficiency, and think too highly of its 
own endowments ; that it may not be puffed 
up with self-conceit, and assume a vain 



204 



SERMON I. 



title to an importance which it cannot 
maintain ; that it may not claim a character 
for extraordinary virtue and uprightness, 
the foundations of which are as visionary 
as the empty shadows of a dream, and, 
" when weighed in a just balance, must be 
found wanting/' 

As the happiness of man in the inter- 
course of society must consist in a forward 
disposition to peace and contentment, it is 
prayed, " that no desire of another's pos- 
sessions {envy), no implacable resentment 
(hatred), no injurious wish (malice), no 
unkind interpretation of another's words 
(uncharitableness) , may ever draw us aside 
from that duty which a neighbour owes to 
his friend or brother." 

These are the mischiefs which arise from 
the heart, and, therefore, are the first 
objects of prayer, " that they may be 
averted from man by God. 3 ' 

To these are naturally added the mis- 
chievous consequences which arise from 
practice. 



SERMON I. 



205 



The indulgence of all passions, which 
carry men forcibly away to the commis- 
sion of crimes expressly forbidden by God's 
commandments, entails upon a very con- 
siderable part of mankind the misery of 
remorse. It is, therefore, a request well 
worthy of the lips and supplication of all 
men, that the merciful Maker of his crea- 
tures would turn their hearts aside from a 
compliance with those unchaste desires 
which may expose innocence to the pollu- 
tions of vice, and induce them to forego 
the sanctity of their frame, which God 
requires to be holy and without blemish, as 
he is holy. Obedience to the appetites, for 
the most part, is encouraged by the deceitful 
pleasures which are vainly presented with 
a varnished outside to the yielding mind. 
An earnest supplication is therefore made 
in the next clause of the Litany, that re- 
sistance may be made to the deceits of the 
world, the inclinations of the flesh, and the 
solicitations of the evil spirit — " the deceits 
of the world, the flesh, and the devil" 



W6 



SERMON I. 



The internal dangers arising from the 
influence of the passions being thus ex- 
pressed and prayed against, the external 
most properly follow. 

The outward evils are they which pro- 
ceed from the jarring elements, and in their 
course bring on unlooked-for destruction, 
lightning and tempest, epidemical diseases, 
or such as, in the likeness of a blighting 
wind, pass through nations, "Pestilence" 
scarcity of food, and failure of corn from 
unfavourable seasons, " Famine ; " the 
havock of war, " Battle;" the private 
injury of man, " Murder ; " and, above all, 
untimely dissolution, not looked for, nor 
provided against, " Sudden death" From 
the calamities brought upon life by these 
natural and accidental causes, the thoughts 
of the suppliant are turned to those which 
may arise from citizenship, and the neces- 
sary connexion with others in the same 
community. 

As tranquillity in general rests upon the 
quiet submission to established government, 



SERMON I. 



207 



God is, in the next portion of the Litany, 
entreated to defend his people from the 
open and treacherous designs of bad sub- 
jects — 66 from all sedition, privy conspiracy, 
and rebellion. 3 ' 

And as the peace of the Church is ne- 
cessarily connected with that of the state, 
a prayer is offered against divisions, and 
all new principles in religion — "false doc- 
trine, heresy, and schism." 

The great obstacle to all improvement 
in morality and religion is an unwillingness 
to hear, to regard the voice of God, and to 
repent. This part of the Litany, therefore, 
closes with a petition, that God would 
take away " all hardness of heart, and con- 
tempt of his commandments" 

The petitions being thus made, and an 
earnest supplication offered " that all these 
evils may be averted," the foundation, upon 
which a reliance is built, " that what is 
thus prayed for may be heard/' most pro- 
perly follows : this foundation is Jesut 
Christ. 



208 



SERMON I. 



Under this confidence the whole life of 
the Saviour is brought into view ; his mira- 
culous Conception; "the mystery of the 
holy Incarnation ; " — his Birth ; " his Nati- 
vity ; " the rites of the law, performed 
upon him in his infancy, and consequently 
his initiation into the Jewish covenant, as a 
descendant from Abraham ; "his Circum- 
cision ; " — the declaration of his divine 
mission, by the ivater of John, and the 
descent of the Spirit upon him in the river 
Jordan ; " his Baptism;" — the preparatory 
exercise for entering upon his public mi- 
nistry; "Fasting ;" — the trial of his in- 
tegrity by Satan ; " Temptation /'—when he 
baffled the arts of the evil spirit; " his 
Sufferings " in the garden of Gethsemane, 
before his death ; " his Agony and Bloody 
Sweat ; " — his pangs at his crucifixion ; 
" his Cross and Passion; '—the departure 
of his soul from his body ; " his Death ; " — 
his body lying for a time in the earth, when 
committed to the grave ; "his Burial; 93 — 
his breaking the bands of death in a tri- 



SERMON I. 



209 



umphant manner ; " his glorious 'Resurrec- 
tion ; '—his return, after forty days, in a 
visible manner to his Father in Heaven ; 
" his, Ascension ; " and upon that return the 
sending down the Holy Spirit, as he had 
promised, in the character of the Com- 
forter, to aid his Apostles, and, through 
them, to teach all nations ; "the coming of 
the Holy Ghost" 

These merits being humbly claimed and 
appealed to as the ground-work of all his 
prayers, the suppliant further entreats the 
Almighty, " that the effect of them may 
extend to all the great events of life, and 
the terrors of death ; that they may com- 
municate assistance and comfort in afflic- 
tion, "in all time of tribulation;" sup- 
port in the season of prosperity, when, 
elated with riches and power, the mind is 
frequently disposed to think too arrogantly 
of itself and to forget God, " in all time 
of our wealth" be at hand at the awful 
moment when the present world is to be 
left, and dissolution of body shall come, 

p 



SERMON I. 



" in the hour of death ; " and, lastly, plead 
in behalf of sinners before the dread tri- 
bunal, when Christ, the Judge, shall sum- 
mon the souls of all into his presence, and 
sentence them to joy or sorrow, as the 
actions of life shall have been good or evil, 
and they penitent or impenitent before 
they died, " in the day of judgment" 

Such is the substance of the former part 
of the Litany. I shall take occasion to 
show the meaning of the latter part, and 
its particular sentences, as occasions shall 
hereafter arise. 

In the mean time I could wish the pre- 
sent congregation would give the explana- 
tion I have above attempted to set before 
them some place in their thoughts. 

I could wish you to dwell upon the sub- 
ject of each evil, which you pray God to 
remove at a distance from you ; to meditate 
upon their nature, and to reflect seriously 
upon the suffering they would create, 
should they, or either of them, singly fall 
upon you. Think with yourselves, that if 



SERMON I. 



211 



one of them would afflict you, what would 
be the effect of more ; or, lastly, what the 
terror and destruction would be, if they all 
should be united, and crush you by their 
weight. They would bear you down as a 
flood. If to avert these things be in the 
hand of God alone, ye must see great 
reason for these sentences in the Litany 
itself, and be grateful in your remembrance 
of their labours who, in past times, com- 
posed it for themselves and for you, 

I trust that, hereafter, ye will give full 
attention, when this most material part of 
worship is read in the morning service of 
the Church, and be careful to observe the 
connection and importance of the individual 
supplications. 

In this, as well as other parts of our 
sacred worship, familiar usage is found to 
render hearers in general less attentive than 
they ought to be to the meaning of many 
truths, which are proposed to them as just 
subjects for prayer or thanksgiving. Many 
among us are brought to the house of 

p 2 



212 



SERMON I. 



God, and the celebration of his sabbath, 
by a generl habit and custom, rather than 
from a serious regard for our indispensable 
duty, and pious consideration. 

It is with the view to correct this mis- 
taken form of serving our Maker, that I 
have put together this concise, and yet, I 
hope, comprehensive illustration of the 
Litany. My object is that words may not 
convey sounds alone, and not a meaning ; 
or the outward ear only be struck, and not 
the inward heart ; that every one of you 
who in this place shall fall before his 
Maker, and pour forth, in the act of hum- 
ble supplication, the labourings of his 
fearful or distressed breast, may know 
what the prescribed form for his prayers 
implies; and not utter expressions empty 
and vain, having no more weight than the 
blasts of air which pass through the sky 
away, and are heard no more. 

May we all, understanding the Scriptures 
as they are taught and read according to 
the Established Church of this country; 



SERMON I. 



213 



and, complying with the forms of its rea- 
sonable and sincere worship, so feel the 
real import of our prayers, that God may 
at all times be with us, and imprint an as- 
surance of his acceptance upon our hearts, 
through Christ Jesus. 



AN EXPLANATION 

OP 

Cfje Stamp* 

IN FOUR PARTS. 
PART II. 

A SERMON. 



AN EXPLANATION 

OF 

Cfjc ffittanp* 

IN FOUR PARTS 
PART II. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON II 



Phil. iv. 6. 

In every thing by prayer and supplication, let your requests be 
made known unto God. 



St. Paul, in this address to the converts 
at Philippi, gives them a catalogue of 
many general exhortations. False teachers 
had arisen in his time among them, and 
had made it their object, if it had been 
possible, to draw them off from their new 
faith, and to bring them back to the cere- 
monies of the Jewish law. In opposition 
to these judaizing zealots, he proposes his 
own life and manners for their conversa- 
tion, and admonishes them to follow the 
same earnestness as he had shown, to ob- 
tain the prize of the great calling in Christ 
Jesus. He tells them, that he had but one 
end in view, the same to which they were 



218 



SERMON II. 



baptized, the looking for the coming of 
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; and 
that they might not fail in the means of 
obtaining the reward of their race, he 
presses upon them the duty of prayer and 
supplication. 66 In every thing/' says he, 
" by prayer and supplication, let your re- 
quests be made known unto God/' 

Having, in a former discourse, endea- 
voured to explain the first part of that 
general Compendium, which was drawn 
up by the compilers of the Litany, as a 
proper form of deprecation, I thought I 
could not build the second part upon a 
better foundation, than the recommenda- 
tion and authority of the text. I shall, 
therefore, convinced of this duty, as ad- 
vised by St. Paul to the Philippians, pro- 
ceed to show how much we are indebted 
to our wise ministers, or governors of the 
church, who, by great labour and with 
much thought, brought together in so small 
a compass a catalogue of wants which fall 
to the lot of man, and call for the goodness 



SERMON II. 



219 



of God, when he is asked for them, to 
bestow. 

It was my wish, in the former explana- 
tion, to show the natural gradation from 
the first invocation and address, and from 
the sins and calamities which we all have 
reason to deprecate and dread, to the 
foundation of our hope, " that the prayer, 
which we offer, will be accepted ; " and 
that is, the mediation of Jesus Christ, the 
efficacy of whose blood extends from 
the different situations of the present life 
to death itself, and to the final day of re- 
wards and punishments. 

I pursued each particular evil which 
may break forth upon us ; pointed out the 
propriety of the order in which they were 
classed ; stated the reason for an appeal 
to the Saviour, in the wide and compre- 
hensive enumeration of his merits, and 
applied the usefulness of such entreaties, 
through his name, to the most important 
concerns of man. 

I shall now proceed to draw your atten- 



mo 



SERMON II. 



tion from the evils, which we so anxiously 
pray to avoid and shun, to the good 
things which we are naturally desirous to 
enjoy . 

1. The first object of supplication in this 
second part of the Litany, and of course 
adapted to the condition of sinful men, is, 
to beseech the Almighty God, that the so- 
ciety of Christians may remain and prosper 
upon the earth ; that the religious assem- 
blies incorporated in the faith of Christ 
through all the nations of the world may 
continue as it is at present established 
among believers ; and that they may rest 
upon the truth of its doctrines, and the 
purity of its morality and precepts. 

The sentences which distinctly contain 
some particular request, are marked as 
they are pronounced by a particular ad- 
dress to the Giver of all good things, as in 
the former part of the Litany; the several 
petitions of the Prayer are, therefore, 
abruptly broken off, " by our beseeching 
the Lord our God to hear." 



SERMON II. 



221 



" We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord" 
2. The next petition most naturally fol- 
lows : it is an entreaty that God will be 
pleased to protect the Church of Christ, and 
its doctrines in general, wherever it may be 
planted in the whole world. To this care 
is subjoined the wished-for preservation 
of that Governor, who, being placed at the 
head of these dominions, supports the 
established religion, and indeed all worship 
of Christian people, by his authority ; 
and, what is of infinite advantage to the 
spreading of religion itself, sets forth 
the full belief he professes in Christ's 
Gospel by his own life and the brightest 
example. 

To this end, the sinner beseeches his 
Maker, that the defender of Christianity, 
in all quarters where his power is known, 
may be at all times confirmed in his own 
faith ; pay honour to God's glorious name, 
by sincere worship in the service of his 
sanctuary ; and put on that pure frame of 
mind which, in all seasons, may dispose 



222 



SERMON II. 



the Almighty to continue his days in holi- 
ness and virtue. 

And as the great requisites for these are 
a fear of God's displeasure, and an admi- 
ration of his goodness, " a confidence in his 
power, and a desire to promote his kingdom 
among men/' it is added by the petitioner, 
" that the king may reverence, love, trust in 
(or have affiance in), and cherish in his 
heart, his honour and glory." 

3. But as nations draw the sword against 
nations, and the peace of one is often 
most injuriously disturbed by another, and 
that the safety of the Church may remain 
unshaken, and rest securely under his 
wing, the petitioner further prays, " that 
the powerful Protector of kings may baffle 
the open, thwart the hidden, disappoint 
the designs of all his adversaries, and give 
him strength to overcome the force or ma- 
lice of those who may rise up against him, 
" that he woidd he his keeper, giving him the 
victory over all his enemies." 

4, The same zeal which directs the 



SERMON II. 



Z23 



prayer for the warding off dangers from 
the sovereign himself, very properly pro- 
ceeds to the prosperity of those who are 
united with him in his high station, and the 
tender offices of domestic relationship : to 
His Royal Consort, our Gracious Queen 
Charlotte; to the August Heir to the 
Throne, His Royal Highness George Prince 
of Wales, and all the other branches of the 
illustrious Family. For these an earnest 
request is made, that they may be enriched 
with temporal and spiritual blessings. 

5. The building itself being thus sup- 
ported, it is most natural to pray, that the 
pillars upon which it leans may, at no 
time, be subject to decay. 

The Church of Christ hath for its struc- 
ture the Author himself, and the doctrines 
he was pleased to deliver to mankind. 
These are dispensed by the administration 
of men, who, from the first days of the 
Apostles, and the immediate followers of 
Jesus himself, have in succession been set 
apart by consecration, or holy commission, 



SERMON II. 



to the discharge of their priestly office. 
As these consist of more exalted and in- 
ferior orders, God, with the greatest pro- 
priety, is entreated to bestow his gifts of 
enlightened minds and pure conversation 
upon all who shall be appointed to publish 
the glad tidings of salvation among men 
— " to illuminate all bishops, priests , and 
deacons" 

With the Chief Governor are intimately 
connected those to whom he hath thought 
proper to delegate a portion of his au- 
thority, or to admit to the participation of 
his counsels. All who are thus dignified, 
may be supposed to perform the task al- 
lotted to them in proportion to their ta- 
lents, and the strength of their minds. 

Is it not, therefore, in the next place, 
a most reasonable subject for prayer, that 
God would be pleased to confer upon them 
a measure of his Spirit ; that Holy Spirit, 
which may guide their hearts by his in- 
fluence from above, and strengthen their 
faculties by the supernatural gift of his 



SERMON II. 



225 



inspiration; that they may, at all times, 
be supplied with a sufficient capacity to 
offer advice, and to assist the labours of 
the Prince, both in the general business of 
the realm, and the particular regulation of 
the Church? " That he would be pleased 
to endue the lords of the council, and all the 
nobility, with grace, wisdom, and under- 
standing" 

7. But no government can stand in dig- 
nity and honour where the laws are not 
enforced, and the statutes sanctioned by a 
regular execution. The usefulness and 
energy of all civil and ecclesiastical esta- 
blishments depend upon these. It is, there- 
fore, proper to beseech the Almighty 
Ruler of kingdoms, that his favour may 
ever accompany those who, for their learn- 
ing and morality, are elevated to the high 
rank of administering justice and equity. 
We, therefore, in the next sentence, offer 
up a petition, that the magistrates may be 
under his peculiar providence, and that 
God may impart to them a sufficient de- 

Q 



226 



SERMON II. 



gree of wisdom, that they may inflict the 
enacted penalties due to offences, and 
espouse the cause of oppressed virtue ; 
that they may stand forth and assert in- 
nocence wherever it may be found to 
be endangered, and give uncorrupt sen- 
tence, without partiality, in the cause of 
truth. 

8. Governors in church and state being 
thus prayed for, whither should attention 
next be turned, but to all who are subject 
to, and live with due obedience under go- 
vernment ? 

In proportion as men comply with the 
rules and customs of their country, and of 
the land in which they were born, their 
misery and happiness is found to arise. 
Very apposite, therefore, is the prayer, 
that the Divine help may never be absent 
from the nation ; that every individual 
member of the community may understand 
his duty, and learn the true spirit of that 
just and equitable subordination to which 
he is called ; and that all men may quietly 



SERMON II. %%7 

persevere in the line of necessary dis- 
tinction, which may contribute to their 
welfare, as the inhabitants of the earth — 
" That God would bless and keep all his 
people/' 

9. But the happiness of a people con- 
sists in mutual agreement ; in the benevo- 
lent suggestions of one mind, and the sound- 
ness of one heart ; and in a constant ex- 
ertion of every class to preserve the public 
tranquillity. 

Who of us, therefore, will not at all 
times be ready to present our fervent ad- 
dress to the throne of power, that there 
may abide among us unity, peace, and con- 
cord? — that there may be no dissensions 
of a civil or religious nature ; that there 
may be a general disposition not to disturb 
each other by quarrels or defamation ; that 
all our actions and words may be directed 
to harmony of neighbourhood and social 
good-will. 

If the consideration of this petition be 
not confined merely to ourselves, but ex- 

q 2 



228 



SEItMON II. 



tended to other kingdoms of the earth, it 
must be acknowledged to be equally pro- 
per. In this sense it must imply the no- 
tion, that we all are of the same human 
race, and that we feel for the distresses of 
such countries as from different causes 
are subject to the slaughter of the sword, 
and to the tremendous visitation of war. 
We pray that the earth may be at rest. 

The subject of General Prayer being 
now despatched, respect to the individual 
follows. When a request hath been so- 
lemnly made for all men, in their collective 
capacity, it is very warrantable to proceed 
to the situation of Christians as singly in- 
terested in their private concerns. 

10. Happiness of mind is the first, as it 
is the most important attainment of all men ; 
but where is this seated ? what is its prin- 
cipal source? " The love and fear of God." 
These are the two springs which put the 
machine into its regular motion, and con- 
sequently it is a most proper part of sup- 
plication, that we may have a just sense 



SERMON II. 



229 



of our inferiority, as created beings, and 
of that kindness extended to us by the 
most indulgent Father. That we may 
conceive a reverential love for him, or, as 
it stands, " that he would give us a heart to 
love him/' 

But as a just sense of obligation is best 
expressed by a conformity of manners to 
a rule prescribed, an addition is made to 
the sentence, that we may, with due awe, 
respect and comply with all the communi- 
cations of his imparted will — " That we 
may dread him, and live after his command- 
ments!' 

11. The Christian Religion is built upon 
faith in the coming and satisfactory atone- 
ment of a Redeemer. Its blessings are 
offered to, and received by, men as a hind 
favour, to which, from their sinful nature, 
they of themselves could have no claim. 
This salvation was the free gift of God, who, 
himself planned the means by which the 
generations of men might be restored to 
their original state, as the sons of God. 



£30 



SERMON II. 



This is what we mean when we say, " that 
we are saved by grace" not through any 
pretensions of our own. The assistance 
also of God, which is variously bestowed 
upon our minds, is called his grace. With- 
out this aid, enabling us to think and to 
act, we can do nothing. How necessary, 
therefore, is it to apply to the Divine 
Fountain, from whence the streams of all 
truth and goodness flow, that they may 
issue from it into our hearts, and constantly 
refresh us with the water, as it is called, of 
regeneration; that God would give us an 
increase of grace ; that the influence of this 
being continually renewed in us we may 
be in a condition to imbibe instruction ; to 
receive and to understand the law of God ; 
to hear with the outward ears, and lay up 
the divine communications in our inward 
breasts ; to banish all arrogance and pride 
from our thoughts, and so to regulate our 
affections as to open our minds, and, with 
all the humble simplicity of a lowly temper, 
to turn our attention to the voice and ^d- 



SERMON II. 



231 



monition of him who is our Lawgiver and 
Judge ? — to hear meekly his word. 

When it is considered what an infinite 
distance is to be found between the created 
man and the Creator God, the former 
weak and perishable, of to-day only, and of 
nothing to-morrow ; the latter of infinite 
perfection, supreme in majesty, boundless in 
goodness, justice, and truth, and of endless 
duration, and eternal existence; meekness 
towards him cannot but be a requisite 
quality, and most indispensable for accept- 
ance at his feet. 

But to " receive with meekness the en- 
grafted word," is but one step to a good 
life. It must bear fruit. The knowledge 
of God and his laws is then only real, and 
truly acquired, when it influences conduct. 
It is its office to guide the desires and 
passions of the soul, and to impel the be- 
liever, if he shall have imbibed the Chris- 
tian institutions, to engrave them upon 
his conscience ; and, if he understands what 
the will of the Lord is, to evidence his per- 



232 



SERMON II. 



suasion by a course of practice made con- 
formable and obedient to his command- 
ments, to show " that he believes" by his 
works ; and, if he has prayed for, and been 
blessed with, the light from Heaven, to 
prove that he is full of the Spirit, by walk- 
ing in it, or, as it runs in the Litany, " to 
bring forth the fruits of the Spirit" 

I shall stop here for the present, and 
explain the remaining petitions upon some 
other occasion. 

In the mean time, may God be pleased to 
hear all that ye shall thus pray for, through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. 



AN EXPLANATION 

or 

JN FOUR PARTS. 
PART III. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON III 



Phil. iv. 6. 

In every thing by prayer and supplication, let your request 
be made known unto God* 



The Church of Christ being founded 
by its heavenly Author upon the prin- 
ciples of the same benevolence as moved 
him to leave the realms of glory, and to 
suffer the wages of sin for the recovery of 
fallen man, there is everywhere to be 
found in its precepts an injunction to cul- 
tivate love, or charity. 

In conformity to this spirit of good-will, 
when intercession has been made in the 
Litany by every individual sinner for him- 
self, and what relates to his own private 
condition, the mind is consistently turned 
to the state of those who are connected 
with him in the same faith. 

1. Our Lord while he was upon earth 
foretold, and also described by figure, 



236 



SERMON III. 



" that the society of believers in him should 
not be uniform ; and that, from different 
causes, there should be a falling away 
from the truth/' Agreeable to this, it is a 
part of our prayers, u that God would be 
pleased to bring back to his fold all ivho 
shall have strayed from the right way, either 
from their own weakness, or the delusion 
of other men ; " " that their own infirmity 
may not keep them in a separation from 
the family of Christ ; or the cunning of 
deceivers entangle their consciences in the 
wild mistakes of their ill-grounded opi- 
nions/' 

2. The state of man is represented as 
warfare, and exposed to trials and diffi- 
culties. These proceed from the great 
adversary, " the evil spirit." It is most 
reasonable, therefore, that sinners should 
beseech their God to increase in them day 
after day such degrees of strength as may 
give them the power to resist the assaults 
of evil, and to preserve them in their inte- 
grity ; or, " to strengthen such as do stand? 



SERMON III. 



237 



But as many must, from the iveahiess of 
their nature, fall into sin, and, from a sense 
of their unworthiness, require comfort, is it 
not right to join in a petition that the 
" weak-hearted" may find the divine aid; 
that the cast down may be lifted up ; and 
so, the snares of our mortal enemy being 
broken, and all his wiles baffled and dis- 
appointed, his power may cease 3 " and 
himself be subject to our own dominion ; " 
or, as it is expressed by metaphor, be 
" beaten down under our feet?" 

3. The paths of this life are beset with 
dangers. No man can, at all times, walk 
surely. The defence of a superior power 
is, consequently, most expedient : his arm 
to protect ; his presence to guard ; his con- 
solation to uphold ; must be sources of the 
greatest confidence to his people when 
" perils shall beset them ; " when " times of 
difficulty shall oppress ; " when " affliction 
shall cast them down/' He it is who 
should be invoked as a Saviour, " in danger, 
necessity, and tribulation" 



238 



SERMON III. 



4. The existence to which we are called 
in this world is to be prolonged and ren- 
dered comfortable by the " fruits of labour, 
and the prosecution of appointed employ- 
ments/' These often require " change of 
place and of country ; " at one time by land, 
at others by the " waters of the sea. 33 But 
the winds obey the voice of God ; and the 
length of a distant way is often made most 
hazardous by different obstructions. Good- 
will to our neighbours, then, very consist- 
ently requires this service of our lips ; that 
we should recommend them to the care and 
disposal of the Divine Providence, whether 
they journey by " land or by water." There 
are also other dangerous situations to 
which the human race are exposed, of a 
domestic kind ; such as the sorrow of a 
woman in her travail; the bed of sickness ; 
the helpless state of infancy ; the horrors of 
confinement under bonds and imprisonment. 
Who among us can say but that it is a 
pleasing subject of our duty to ask, " that 
God will relieve a woman under the pangs 



SERMON III. 



239 



of her delivery ; the wants and weakness of 
young children ; the infirm and diseased in 
their torture ; the tears and anguish of those 
who are fast bound in the misery of pri- 
soners and captives ? " 

5. There is no wretchedness, in general, 
so great as that of " orphans" who are 
left to bewail the absence of, and to regret 
the support they are taught by nature and 
the ties of affection to expect from, their 
parents. When this sad calamity hath 
been brought upon a family, and infants 
are left behind, perhaps without any arm to 
defend them, certainly without the tender- 
ness of a father or mother to comfort them, 
what expressions can justly describe the 
sorrow of a home ? 

Of the same aggravated distress is the 
forlorn condition of a " wife'' when disease 
shall have consumed, or accident cut 
asunder, the thread of a husbands life. 
Here also, especially among the poor, is 
felt the change of joy to bitterness, of 
competency to want 



240 



SERMON III. 



To a woman in this trouble arises the 
remembrance of all her former comforts, 
and the gloomy prospect also of solitary 
at least, if not painful, days to come. These 
two afflictions are so oppressive that the 
sufferers are said to be under the imme- 
diate eye of God, He is the God of the 
"fatherless and the widow!' There is no 
one here present but must feel the pro- 
priety of addressing the Father of Conso- 
lations, " that, in his mercy, he would 
listen to the cries of children" deprived by 
his good pleasure of their earthly pro- 
tectors, and give them the means of sus- 
taining their minds and bodies. Equally 
great is the call of the " widow " upon our 
compassion; and with her all who have 
lost their friends, and are destitute of a 
guardian to defend them; " the desolate 
and oppressed! 9 

6. The whole race of men are sinners; 
they are, in some respect or other, offenders 
against the divine law, and, consequently, 
amenable to punishment. Christian charity 



SERMON III. 



241 



commands the servants of their Master in 
Heaven, who went about doing good, to re- 
commend all who have sinned in their in- 
tercessions to the forgiveness of God; that he 
would be pleased to turn away his displea- 
sure from the creatures whom he made ; 
to bear with their iniquities ; to avert his 
judgments ; and to remove from them the 
severity of his wrath ; in whatever country 
they may dwell; whatever religion they 
may profess ; in whatever rank they may 
be placed; in ivhatever situation they may 
he found — " that he may have mercy upon 
all men!' 

7. The doctrines of Jesus suffer not the 
minds of his followers to be confined within 
the narrow bounds of praying for those who 
wish us good; but as human life is mixed 
with tempers of the most opposite kind, 
for those also who wish us evil; "Bless 
them" says our Lord, " who curse you ; 
love your enemies, and pray for them who 
despitefully use you and persecute you!' In 
strict obedience to this injunction, as there 

R 



242 



SERMON III. 



are few who are not injured by others ; 
whose good name is not diminished by slan- 
der ; whose pious actions are not attempted 
to be lessened by the malevolence of defa- 
mation; a contrary practice is enjoined by 
the Church, that we should beg of God to 
give us a better mind, to pardon even those 
who reproach us, and to open their under- 
standings, that they may see their own 
wickedness, and find reason to retract their 
calumny ; Ck that he would turn their hearts." 

8. All the inhabitants of the earth are 
of perishable bodies, and require " sub- 
sistence" from day to day. The Author 
of us all provided a remedy for this in- 
firmity, and his gifts are constantly sup- 
plied by the fruitfulness of the earth. The 
bosom of this receives seed, or whatever is 
to grow, for the use and service of man. 
But, besides the usual fruitfulness of the 
ground, the food of all depends upon the 
seasons to bring it to perfection. When 
these shall either favour or prove unkind, 
the blessings derived from the fields are 



SERMON III. 



243 



comparatively greater or less ; and expe- 
rience shows to every one that the rain 
from Heaven to water, and the heat of the 
sun to ripen, contribute by their tempera- 
ment to the proper growth of the harvest. 
Most wisely, therefore, after all our prayers 
for the peace of our minds, is added this 
for the continuance of health to our bodies : 
that it may please the Almighty to bestow 
upon the work of our hands an increase 
of produce from the land, which is culti- 
vated, and bring all its crops to their ma- 
turity ; that he would so assist them with 
his care, that at the proper season we may 
reap, gather into barns, and use them for 
the nourishment of our limbs, and the pre- 
servation of our lives; " that in due time we 
may enjoy them." 

9- In the last sentence, since the bless- 
ings we in this manner pray for must come 
down from above, and of free gift from 
the Author, we present ourselves before 
God in humble supplication, that we may 
not be found entirely unworthy of his fa- 
il 2 



2U 



SERMON III. 



vour ; that for this purpose he will raise in 
us a just sense of our sinful state, and lead 
us to amendment of life; that upon our 
contrition he will overlook our past trans- 
gressions, pardon what we have done — "our 
sins ; " and remit the punishment due for 
the omission of what we ought to have done — 
negligences and ignorances : and lastly, that 
he will draw us off from our former con- 
versation, by enlightening our understand- 
ings, and disposing us, by the help of his 
Spirit, to correct our manners according to 
his commandments ; or, " to amend our 
lives according to his holy word!' 

The whole ends with a fervent applica- 
tion to the merits of the great Redeemer, 
for the efficacy and success of all our peti- 
tions. As there is no means by which 
Christians can present the words of their 
mouth, and the meditation of their hearts, 
but through a mediation, with singular pro- 
priety we commend ourselves to God, 
through his Son Jesus Christ, " the Lamb 
who was slain/' 



AN EXPLANATION 

OF 

€J)e Eitanp. 

IN FOUR PARTS. 
PART IV. 

A SERMON. 



SERMON IV. 



Phil. iv. 6. 

In every thing by prayer and supplication, let your requests be 
made known unto God. 



Having given as full an explanation of 
that comprehensive form of deprecation 
and intercession (the Litany) as the nature 
of these Discourses will reasonably allow, 
and pointed out to this congregation the 
meaning of each sentence, in its distinct 
design, in order that so material a part of 
the Church Service may make its due im- 
pression upon your minds, I shall add a 
Summary of what has been already offered 
to your consideration. 

My trust is, that having received a par- 
ticular illustration of the individual parts, 
ye will suffer the whole, when taken to- 
gether in a general way, to find a more 



us 



SERMON IV. 



ready place in your hearts, and to influence 
your devotions. 

There can be but little use in the expla- 
nation of the Litany, if the parts attempted 
to be illustrated are not referred to by 
hearers ; my endeavours to instruct can give 
but little improvement if the attentive eye 
and mind do not compare the explanation 
with the original. 

In the first place, the sinner (for the 
Litany presupposes all who thus prostrate 
themselves, and make use of such a form 
of prayer, to be of that description) offers 
up the address of his lips to the Creator 
of all things ; first, under the threefold 
character of the Godhead; and then as it 
is concentrated in unity. 

2. That the guilt attached to him by in- 
heritance may not obstruct the success of 
his petitions, he implores pardon for the 
sins of himself and of those from whom he 
was descended by generation. For though 
punishment be the necessary act of justice, 
he beseeches the Judge, that the wrath 



SERMON IV. 



249 



hereby kindled may not burn, and not be 
quenched ; but that compassion may sup- 
port the afflicted, and the fury of anger by 
time be extinguished — " Be not angry with 
me" says he, " for ever/' 

3. After this preparatory exordium, de- 
signed as a means of obtaining the merci- 
ful ear of God, he proceeds to the object 
of his humiliation ; and, as most natural, 
expresses a desire to be free from the dif- 
ferent troubles and calamities of this lower 
world. As these take their rise from dif- 
ferent causes, and are either of a temporal 
or spiritual kind ; as they either affect the 
health of the body, or the quiet of the 
mind; as they proceed from the thoughts 
of the heart; intercourse with other men, 
or the casual convulsions in the system of 
nature ; as they sometimes arise from dis- 
ease and infirmity, or from accidents which 
no human foresight can prevent, or turn 
from their course ; the sinner deprecates 
the falling of these upon his own head, and 
invokes a favourable interference in all 



250 



SERMON IV. 



perils, bodily and ghostly, that he may 
escape. 

4. Conscious, however, that prayer can 
be by no other means acceptable than by 
a mediation, knowing that the great Ad- 
vocate for man, Christ Jesus, alone can 
commend to his Father the words of the 
suppliant, he is careful not to pass by this 
flattering hope ; he leans, as he ought, 
upon that rock of safety which may support 
his feet from falling; and therefore pre- 
sents the meditations of his heart in the 
name of his great Intercessor. Thus to 
show that he understands the value of the 
atonement made for sinful man, and the 
importance of every part in his high cha- 
racter while he remained upon earth, he 
enumerates all and every part of that ap- 
pearance which was made in the flesh, that 
the Son of God might become a Redeemer. 

5. And that the goodness in averting 
evils may not continue for a single day 
only, but remain at hand to help in the 
several seasons of necessity, the sinner 



SERMON IV. 



251 



proceeds, having gained a degree of confi- 
dence in prayer from appealing to the merits 
of the Mediator, to implore the benign in- 
tervention of a kind Providence in the va- 
rious conditions of his earthly pilgrimage ; 
and when that shall be brought to its end, 
and the terms of his existence being com- 
pleted, he is to yield to the first curse en- 
tailed upon him by his birth, to beg that 
the same defence may be extended to him 
when he is to return to the dust of the 
ground ; nor then only ; but when the 
trumpet shall have sounded, and the grave 
sent forth the dead ; when all who have 
slept shall arise, and the tribunal summon 
them to answer for the works recorded in 
the Book of Life, he may stand under the 
shadow of his wing without dismay. 

2dly. In the next division of the sen- 
tences which compose this most instructive 
part of the Church service, the scene is, 
as it were, changed, and the mode of the 
address is altered, as I have remarked to 
you before, from deprecation to interces- 



252 



SERMON IV. 



sian ; or, from the turning away of evils, to 
the granting what may be profitable and 
good. 

In the explanation of this part, I endea- 
voured to draw your observation to the 
regular manner in which one point arose 
upon the other; and to show, that there 
was the most proper connexion between the 
individual objects of the interceding sinner. 

1. With this view I stated, that it was 
the first and natural wish of a true believer, 
that the Church, which offered to him re- 
mission of sins, might continue to flourish 
throughout the world ; that all men, who 
might be converted to the faith of Christ, 
might feel the influence of its power, and 
inherit its blessings. 

2. From this I proceeded to hold forth 
to you, in a prominent way, the connected 
duty of praying for the life, safety, and 
happiness of that supreme person, under 
whose authority the building of Christianity 
is supported in these kingdoms ; and of 
those also who are united with him under 



SERMON IV. 



253 



the same faith, in the bonds of domestic 
relation, 

3. As partaking with the head of this 
important concern, I then showed the ne- 
cessity of offering a petition for all who 
are in high authority ; and principally the 
administrators of that worship which was 
founded upon the doctrines of the Gospel, 
and hath continued, in some form or other, 
from the days of Christ and his Apostles. 

With these, as tending to the same end, 
are joined all who are admitted to the 
counsels of the king, and such as are ap- 
pointed to administer justice, for the cor- 
rection of vice and support of virtue. 

4. In the next place, I called your at- 
tention to another division of the Litany — 
intercession for all who live in the belief of 
Christ and under governments, that they 
may be at peace among themselves 

This being done, I said, we naturally 
fall into thoughts respecting ourselves, that 
we may have a reverence and love of God 
and his statutes; that we may groiu in 



254 



SERMON IV. 



grace, and encourage in our hearts the 
influence of the Holy Ghost ; that all who 
have strayed from the true faith, may re- 
turn from apostacy ; " that the wavering 
may be supported, and triumph over the 
arts of the evil spirit/' 

5. The distresses of our fellow-creatures 
are the next object of our intercession; 
and here we bring together the sufferings 
of men in their various conditions, whether 
they be exposed to the dangers of hazardous 
enterprises, poverty, or afflictions ; whether 
they be occupied in business, which calls 
them away by long and painful journeys, or 
voyages from their own country; whether 
sorrows are coming from women in their 
travail; "pains on the bed of sickness ;" 
"helplessness upon the infant state;" or 
" despair upon those who are bound in 
misery and iron!' 

6. The most wretched of all conditions 
was, of course, not passed by; — "the tear 
of her who bewails a husband, or the cry 
of him who has lost his father, as well as 



SERMON IV. 



255 



the general mass of men, under the forlorn 
despondency of the forsaken" 

7. Add to these, from a just observation 
made upon the manners of men, and the 
sinfulness, either entailed upon them, or 
acquired by their own habits, the general 
hope, that " God will be merciful in his 
dealings with the whole race of mankind/' 

8. To these, when we hope to be forgiven 
ourselves, is very aptly subjoined a desire, 
that we may be ready to forgive the tress- 
passes of other men ; " that of whatever 
nature their malice may be, it may find a 
pardoning disposition in ourselves" 

9. The two last sentences are confined 
to the care of our bodies, and the peace of 
our souls. A humble entreaty is made, 
that, as our frame is liable to decay, it may 
be strengthened by the regular produce of 
the earth; and, as our minds are weak and 
frail, they may be daily assisted by the 
Divine Spirit, which may admonish them, 
neither wilfully to commit sin, nor carelessly 
to disregard the duties of Christ's religion, 



256 



SERMON IV. 



which may teach them " to retract their 
errors" and " to seek God again by amend- 
ment of life." 

The whole compendium being thus 
despatched, the sinner most obviously 
returns to the foundation of all his hopes, 
and concludes both his deprecation and in- 
tercession with a most earnest appeal to 
the Mediator between God and man for his 
prevailing name. Hence, in the fulness of 
his heart, he repeats his trust in the blood 
of him who died for sin, and prays, that, 
through his merits, God, in his justice 
towards him, will remember his mercy, 
loving-ki?idness, and forbearance ; that, as 
he is Lord of all, he will have compassion 
upon all. 

In this manner, as well generally as cir- 
cumstantially, I have made an endeavour 
to hold forth to your observation the Litany 
itself, and all its parts. My vnly view has 
been to open your understandings, if it 
should so have happened, that the meaning 
and connexion of the several sentences 



SERMON IV. 



257 



have escaped your immediate attention, or, 
from familiar usage, left too iveak an im- 
pression upon your hearts. 

It will in this, as well as all other attempts 
to explain the excellent tenets of our 
Church, be a sufficient recompense for the 
employment of my time, if I shall appear 
to you to speak the truth, and assist you in 
the obtaining a knowledge of such things as 
may properly direct your worship here, and 
recommend you, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, to the everlasting benediction of 
God himself hereafter. Amen. 



s 



A 

SHORT TREATISE 

ON THE 

REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION, 

WITH 

AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

ON THE 

SACRAMENT; 

DRAWN UP FOR THE USE OF THE AUTHOR'S PRIVATE PUPILS. 



s 1 



A TREATISE, &c. 



It was a practice in the Jewish church 
for all its young members, at the age of 
twelve years, personally to appear in the 
temple at Jerusalem, and, in the presence 
of the congregation, to take upon them- 
selves the promises, made in their name at 
their circumcision, to obey the law of Moses. 
After which, the sponsors, or those who 
were sureties at their initiation to Judaism, 
were considered as discharged from their 
duty. 

The Christian church, being built upon 
the Jewish, hath adopted the same plan; 
especially as those who constitute a great 
part of its society are generally introduced 
into it at a very early age, before they can 
be supposed to have any notion of the 
solemn vows, which were made in their 
names, as the new disciples of Christ. 



262 



TREATISE ON THE 



This taking upon themselves the obliga- 
tions required at first of the representa- 
tives is called Confirmation, or the ratifying 
in their own persons what was engaged for 
them by their Godfathers and Godmothers. 

The ceremony of Confirmation appears 
to have been early introduced by the Apos- 
tles themselves. For when the Samaritans 
were baptized by Philip, they sent Peter 
and John to lay hands on them. St. Paul 
also confirmed the Ephesians after their con- 
version " by laying on of hands/' 

From hence this conclusion is drawn, that 
their new character, as believers in Christ, 
was not considered as complete, till the 
Apostles themselves had, by an outward 
sign, conferred upon them the gift of the 
Holy Ghost. 

For we read, that this accompanied the 
blessing given by the Apostles, — " The 
Holy Ghost came upon them/' or they 
were on a sudden enlightened by an in- 
spiration from Heaven. 

This wonderful and instantaneous gift of 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 263 

the Holy Ghost, when the Church was suf- 
ficiently established, ceased, as no longer 
necessary. The ordinary graces, or virtu- 
ous habits of mind, took place of the ex- 
traordinary illuminations. 

The ceremony of Confirmation hath 
therefore remained among the successors 
of the Apostles, not as a means of confer- 
ring the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit, 
but with a view to prepare the hearts of 
Christian children for the receiving of its 
ordinary graces or good dispositions. 

And what can be more proper, or better 
suited to this purpose, than a rite which 
more immediately brings to the thoughts of 
the young (at an age when the passions are 
beginning to exert their influence, and they 
are going forth into the business and cares 
of the world) their situation as the disci- 
ples of Christ; and reminds them upon 
what terms alone they can call themselves 
the children of God, or the objects of their 
Redeemer s atonement. 

Before this h^th been duly considered 



264 



TREATISE ON THE 



by them, the name of Christian, which they 
bear, hath been the effect of accident only ; 
or as they have been bom in a country 
where the religion of Christ is professed. 
When they shall have made themselves suf- 
ficiently acquainted with the conditions of 
the covenant, and, after a full and serious 
reflection, are desirous to continue under 
the character of Christians, then for the 
first time have they a right to their name. 

This observation I may apply to you who 
are now called by your Church to a ratifi- 
cation of your baptismal vow. That you 
are called Christians is to be referred to 
these two causes, viz. That you have been 
born in a land where Christianity is pro- 
fessed ; and of parents who wished that you 
should be brought up in the same faith : — 
at a very early age you were initiated into 
the general society of Christians ; and 
had a name given you expressive of 
the new character you then assumed. To 
this time, therefore, you have had no other 
title to your Christian profession than what 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 265 

you have derived from your parents or 
country. 

The Church, however (to which you 
belong), is not satisfied with this accidental 
mark ; it requires that all who are of its 
persuasion should give a more significant 
proof that they are in mind what they pro- 
fess in word ; and therefore at an age when 
reason is supposed to have its power over 
the mind, calls upon its young members to 
review the promises given when they were 
first baptized ; and in a public manner to 
acknowledge themselves bound to believe 
and to do what the doctrines of the Chris- 
tian faith require. After this their charac- 
ter may be said to begin. 

This open acknowledgment of the bap- 
tismal vow is once only to be made. For, 
as the ceremony of baptism is once per- 
formed, and no more, so the avowal of 
your baptism is once only required ; or con- 
firmation (which is nothing more than a 
ratification of the vow) can be but once 
necessary. They, therefore, who wish this 



266 



TREATISE ON THE 



ceremony to be repeated, seem not to have 
sufficiently considered the design of its in- 
stitution. 

The duties of a Christian consist in a 
belief of the great Author of the religion 
himself — Jesus Christ ; a knowledge of the 
service he requires ; and a resolution to 
perform it all the days of his life. 

Jesus Christ was the only-begotten Son 
of God, who, having existed from all eter- 
nity with the Father, in the same divine 
nature, came down from his seat in Hea- 
ven, both to make atonement by his blood 
for the sins of mankind, and to abolish the 
power and dominion of satan. As the de- 
sign, therefore, of his coming was to de- 
stroy the works of the devil, a renouncing of 
him and his works is one of the requisitions 
of the Gospel ; and therefore this stands 
as the first promise given by all sponsors 
at the baptism of children — " They are 
to renounce the devil and all his works/' 
It is obvious to remark, that when these 
vows are taken upon Christians in their own 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 267 

persons at their confirmation, the same 
must continue the first principle of their 
duty. 

" To renounce the devil/' is to abstain 
from, and to abhor, those sinful gratifica- 
tions which he, as the father of all wicked- 
ness, shall at any time suggest. 

By the devil, i. e. the accuser of men to 
God, derived from a Greek word signify- 
ing an accuser or reviler, we mean that evil 
spirit who, in consequence of his rebellion, 
was cast forth from the mansions of Hea- 
ven ; and, being condemned to a perpetual 
exclusion from that seat of happiness, has 
made it his great object to involve man, 
since his first creation, in the same misery. 

As nothing is so likely to prevail upon 
us to accept the poisonous cup which he 
offers under the mask of pleasure, as the 
idleness of a vain and voluptuous life ; we 
are required to disclaim the pomps and va- 
nities of the world, the empty gratifications 
of sin, that are recommended by the vicious 
part of mankind. And, as a wicked life 



268 



TREATISE ON THE 



(though it may be confirmed by an imita- 
tion of bad examples) has its rise in the 
heart, and the encouragement of evil 
thoughts, we are now directed to check the 
desires of the flesh, or to resist the solici- 
tations of passions— a compliance with 
which may lead us into misery. 

After this, an assent is required to the 
Articles of the Christian Faith, or the com- 
pendium of religion, which we, of the Pro- 
testant Church,* have established as the 
rule of our faith ; and which is called (not 
so much from any certainty that the Apos- 
tles drew it up, as that it contains the 
Apostolical doctrines) the Creed. 

This consists of three principal parts, 
containing, in the first place, what we be- 
lieve concerning the great author of the uni- 
verse — God — and his attributes : secondly, 
concerning his Son Jesus, his birth, death, 

* Protestants were so denominated from the Protest en- 
tered into by the Elector of Saxony, the Landgrave of Hesse, 
and other members of the Diet held at Spires, April 19, 
a. d. 1529, against the enemies of Luther, respecting the 
holding a general council. 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION* 269 

resurrection, and ascension into Heaven : 
thirdly, concerning the Holy Ghost and 
his offices ; to which are subjoined other 
doctrines as matters of belief ; though the 
most ancient Creeds went no further than 
a declaration of faith, in the Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost — such as the holy Catholic 
Church, or the universal society of holy 
men, consisting both of those who now are, 
or are gone before us, and of those who 
are yet to come : the Communion of Saints, 
or the fellowship of holy persons with God 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : the For- 
giveness of Sins, or the remission of punish- 
ment due to sin through the merits and 
mediation of Jesus Christ : the Resurrection 
of the Body, or the rising again of all men 
in the same bodies ; those of the faithful to 
be glorified, of the wicked to be capable 
of everlasting punishment : the Life Ever- 
lasting, or a state of happiness or misery 
to come, according to the good or evil 
actions of men in their present existence. 
The next thing promised at our baptism 



270 



TREATISE ON THE 



is this, that we will keep God's command- 
ments ; or that we will do our best endea- 
vours, the grace of God assisting us, to 
perform his will. 

This will of God is delivered in what we 
commonly call the Ten Commandments ; 
which, though they were given by God to 
the Jews, are binding to Christians ; for 
Jesus " came not to destroy but to fulfil 
the law/' 

These Commandments contain our duty 
to God, to ourselves, and to our neigh- 
bour. They are divided into two tables ; 
the first ends with that which concerns the 
sabbath ; the second begins with that which 
requires us to honour our parents. One 
general remark may be made upon them 
all : That when one thing is required, its 
contrary is forbidden, and vice versa. 

After this follows in the Catechism a 
kind of compendium of duty, according to 
the spirit of the commandments, both to 
the Deity, and to all mankind. These 
are the particulars required of our God- 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 271 

fathers and Godmothers in our names at 
our baptism. To these are subjoined the 
means of receiving the grace of God for 
the performance of them — Prayer. 

Prayer is a calling upon God for his 
gracious assistance for the attainment of 
good, and prevention of evil. 

As no form can be so proper or compre- 
hensive as that which Jesus appointed for 
the use of his disciples ; the Church directs 
its members at all times to apply to their 
Maker in the Lord's prayer. 

This consists of three parts ; 1. An in- 
vocation or preface ; Our Father which art 
in Heaven, 2. In petitions respecting the 
glory of God ; Hallowed be thy name, Thy 
kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as 
it is in Heaven. 3. Our own particular 
wants ; Give us this day our daily bread, and 
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them 
that trespass against us, and lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A 
doxology, or conclusion to the glory of 
God ; For thine is the kingdom, the power, 
and the glory ; — which is designed to 



TREATISE ON THE 



remind us that all we pray for and all we 
do is to be directed to one end — " The 
Glory of God."* 

The latter part of the Church Catechism 
teaches by what other means the grace of 
God is conveyed to us ; viz. The worthy 
partaking of the Holy Sacraments. 

The Sacraments are two — Baptism and 
the Lord's Supper. 

To constitute a Sacrament there must be 
an outward sign of an inward grace ; a 
divine institution, the means to confer the 
gift, and a pledge or assurance of it. 

These as it were component parts are to 
be found in those two only which we call 
Baptism, and the Supper of our Lord. The 
five, therefore, added by the Church of 
Rome, Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unc- 
tion, Matrimony, and Ordination, as failing 
in the essential parts, cannot be admitted. 

Baptism is a Sacrament, because it has 
an outward sign (water) of an inward 
grace (regeneration), an appointment from 

* The Prayer is ended by one word, Amen, which ex- 
presses an assent to all things which are prayed for. It is 
properly a Greek word 5 which signifies truly or verily. 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 273 

Jesus himself; " Go ye and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost ; " the means of conferring grace. — 
For Baptism is to regenerate us, John iii. 5. 

The emblem, Water (as used by all 
nations, and even by Heathens, as a token 
of purity), signifies our spiritual cleansing 
by the blood of Christ. As our bodies are 
washed from their pollutions by water, so 
are our souls purified by the blood of 
Jesus. It is therefore necessary to the 
administration of this Sacrament. 

The inward and spiritual grace exhibited 
in this Sacrament is a restoration from the 
fallen state (the penalty of Adam's trans- 
gression) to the favour of God by the 
death of the Redeemer. 

The preparation for Baptism is repent- 
ance and faith ; a renouncing of sin, and a 
belief in the truth of the Christian religion. 

As these cannot (though required in all 
who are baptized) be expected from chil- 
dren, sponsors engage to the Church that, 

T 



274 



TREATISE ON THE 



at the years of discretion, those whom they 
represent shall believe and repent. 

That children should, under this promise, 
be admitted to Baptism is agreeable to the 
Jewish law, by which children were received 
into the covenant at eight days old by the 
ceremony of Circumcision. 

The Lord's Supper is also most truly a 
Sacrament ; as it exhibits a sign (bread 
and wine) of an inward grace (the redemp- 
tion of the world), and was instituted by 
Christ himself a short time before his pas- 
sion into the place of the Paschal supper 
among the Jews. Its design was this ; viz. 
that all mankind in succeeding ages might 
have in this Sacrament a memorial or lively 
representation of his death. 

The signs in this Sacrament (bread 
and wine) are emblems of the breaking 
of the body, and the pouring out of the 
blood, of Christ. These are eat and drunk 
(not as the Romanists teach in their 
doctrine of transubstantiation, as actually 
converted into the very body and blood of 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 275 

the Saviour), but merely as figures and 
tokens. 

The thing signified by these emblems is 
the sacrifice of Christ ; which to the faith- 
ful is as efficacious in the representation 
only, as if the body of him was really again 
broken and the blood poured out. 

The benefits arising from this Sacrament 
are these ; the giving us at all times the 
comfortable assurance that our redemption 
is accomplished ; and thereby creating in 
us a joyful confidence that we shall be par- 
takers of his atonement. This persuasion 
carries us on through all the difficulties of 
life, and encourages us to resist all such 
temptations to sin as may interrupt the 
course of our duty. 

This Sacrament (which is administered 
only to those who are of a riper age, and 
therefore supposed to have the power of 
exercising their reason) is not to be ap- 
proached without a due care and attention. 

In the celebration of this ordinance we 
declare ourselves the disciples of Christ. 

t 2 



276 



TREATISE ON THE 



But to be the true followers of him we 
must forsake the path of sin. Whether we 
be thus disposed, or have actually renoun- 
ced a life of wickedness, is to be the sub- 
ject of frequent inquiry. Without self- 
examination there can be no true repent- 
ance ; and without repentance our ap- 
proaching the Supper of our Lord is little 
less than mockery. 

The Church requires that all its members 
should first ratify the vows of their Bap- 
tism before they become partakers of the 
Lord's table. If, however, it should so 
happen that from circumstances the rite of 
confirmation should have been omitted, it 
allows those who have made themselves 
acquainted with the Christian faith to com- 
municate publicly at the Lord's table, 
though they shall not have publicly con- 
firmed the obligations of Baptism. 

I have in this brief manner endeavoured 
to explain the Church Catechism as pre- 
paratory to your confirmation, and hope 
some not unuseful knowledge may arise 



REQUISITES FOR CONFIRMATION. 277 

from it to any of you who shall have given 
it attention. As you are called upon at 
this time to take upon yourselves the pro- 
mises given by your sponsors, " that you 
should become the servants and soldiers of 
Christ/' I think it my duty to exhort you 
to enlist under his banner, and to resolve 
by the grace of God (i. e. the free favour 
of his spirit, to be obtained by prayer and 
a right use of the gift) to keep his com- 
mandments ; for I must add upon this 
alone depends your salvation. 

At this time the blessings of the Gospel 
are offered to you ; if you put them from 
you you will have yourselves only to ac- 
cuse. That you, therefore, may walk 
worthy of your calling, let me recommend 
it to you to apply to God by constant 
prayer ; and that you may be in less danger 
of miscarrying, to cultivate those principles 
which may teach you to pass your lives in 
sobriety and virtue. 



END OF THE TREATISE, 



AN 

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

ON THE 

SACRAMENT. 



All societies of men, whether religious 
or civil, have been connected together by 
certain forms, and those who have laid 
claim to their advantages have been bound 
by some covenant or mode of obligation. 

Thus the Roman soldiers took an oath 
of service and obedience to their com- 
mander ; by this they were engaged not to 
forsake his standard, nor desert their post 
in the time of danger. 

This obligation was expressed by a word 
in their language {Sacramentum) translated 
by the moderns Sacrament or Oath. 

The same expression having the same 
sense to convey, is made use of by the 
society of Christians to signify that bond 



280 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

by which they are held together, and under 
which they are to perform a duty of obe- 
dience to the Author of their religion. 

There are two lights in which mankind 
are to consider themselves ; first, as made 
by a great Creator ; and secondly, re- 
deemed by a Saviour. 

1. The former knowledge is communi- 
cated to them by their own consciences, 
by the works of the Creator so evident in 
all parts of the world, and by the acknow- 
ledgment of ages. 

2. The latter is drawn from Revelation. 
Revelation is the will of that Creator 

made known to his creatures at different 
time ), and in different manners. 

This Revelation is continued to man by 
record ; which, if it be supported by au- 
thenticity, must be believed in as contain- 
ing Truth. 

The book called the Bible is that record ; 
the proof of its authenticity is its antiquity 
and the reception it has met with in differ- 
ent ages. Had there been reason to sup- 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 281 



pose that it was a forgery at the time it 
was written, it would have been then dis- 
puted ; and in aftertimes, from evidences 
collected by learning and argument, been 
confuted. No such rejection from these 
grounds has taken place ; consequently it 
is confided in as a treasure of real com- 
munication. 

There is no method by which the know- 
ledge of things which have passed in ante- 
cedent times can be delivered down from 
generation to generation among men, but 
history. This rests upon credibility, cre- 
dibility upon testimony. If the Bible hath 
this authority for its support, it is at least 
equal to any other book, and claims even 
upon that ground only the belief of its 
readers. 

Of this book Moses was the principal 
author ; and in the five first books called 
the Pentateuch he gave an account, to the 
nation over which he presided as the law- 
giver, of the first formation and peopling 
of the world ; and (what was connected 



28S INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

with that people as the Chosen of God) of 
the preservation of the true worship and 
belief in a God, by a succession of de- 
scendants in a peculiar family. 

The history given by him of the crea- 
tion was designed to refute all the wild 
and extravagant notions of the cause of all 
things seen in the visible world, which, from 
the corruptions of tradition, had prevailed 
in the idolatrous countries. 

After he had described the manner by 
which the heaven and the earth were made, 
he proceeds to speak of the first inhabit- 
ant, Man, who was placed upon the latter 
He describes his state, and the terms of 
that state ; his disobedience to his Maker, 
and his fall ; he mentions the cause of that 
fall, — a yielding to temptation. He adds 
what that temptation was, and who was the 
author of it. In the first place, the pro- 
spect of forbidden knowledge ; in the latter, 
an animal made by a malevolent being, the 
vehicle of mischief by transgression. He 
does not proceed to give any particular 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 283 

account of the nature of that being who 
was thus the author of disobedience and 
its punishment; little has been communi- 
cated upon this subject, as totally unneces- 
sary, in all probability, for man to know, 
and of too mysterious a nature for his li^ 
mited powers to comprehend. All that 
can be collected upon this wonderful and 
incomprehensible doctrine is from scattered 
parts of subsequent writers; such as St. 
Peter and St. John, from whom it may be 
understood, that a being of an order supe- 
rior to man, and a spirit, moved others of 
the same order to an act of rebellion 
against the Supreme Being ; and that he 
was cast with them from a high rank of 
glory into a place of punishment for his 
offence. 

What that punishment is, or where en- 
dured, is at present unknown ; nor is it 
material for ^ny to understand. An enemy 
to God, he became an enemy to his works ; 
and as the highest proof he could give of 
his opposition to the will of his superior, 



284 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

he determined to destroy in his sight what 
had come forth by creation so perfect from 
his hands, — the new-made man. To this is 
to be ascribed the first contrivance of the 
fall and its ultimate success. It is not for 
man to search into the counsels of God, 
nor to inquire for what wise reasons the 
unhappy issue of that temptation was al- 
lowed. It is only to be lamented in its 
consequences ; and the proneness of all 
the descendants of the first man to sin is a 
proof that such bad success did attend 
that temptation. 

I have dwelt thus long upon this parti- 
cular subject, as I consider it the ground- 
work of the necessity there was that there 
should be a redemption, or a restoration, 
of man to that state from which he had 
fallen, through the Tempter, by a media- 
tion. Unless there be a persuasion that 
this was necessar)^ all that is built upon it 
must vanish into nothing. 

This, I hope (allowance being made for 
the brief manner in which it hath been 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



285 



stated), being established to your satisfac- 
tion, I shall proceed to what Moses further 
delivered, as a great truth in his history. 

The historian, after he had recorded the 
circumstance of the fall of man, added an 
express promise given by his Creator, that 
vengeance should be taken of the evil 
spirit, who had at first drawn him off from 
his obedience, and thereby brought upon 
him misery and punishment. He mentions 
first of all the general promise, that a De- 
scendant should arise to the sinners in a 
future age, who should soften the sentence 
of death (the dreadful penalty of transgres- 
sion), and obtain dominion over the malign 
being who first, by his art, brought guilt 
upon Adam — " The seed of the woman/' 
&c. Gen. iii. 

In the course of his history, Moses 
showed that this promise was kept alive 
among the children of the first man, from 
generation to generation ; that though wick- 
edness prevailed, and its punishment (the 
flood) followed, yet that this was renewed ; 



286 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

that as the knowledge of the true God was 
yet preserved in a small part of the human 
race, the expectation of the Deliverer, who 
was to be sent, was preserved also ; that 
Abraham obtained the renewal of this pro- 
mise as a reward for his faithfulness, that 
" in his seed all the nations of the earth 
should be blessed." 

The writer afterwards mentions a parti- 
cular branch of Abraham's family, — the fa- 
mily of Jacob. In the mouth of this man 
(who was called the Patriarch, or the head 
of the families), he places a prediction re- 
specting the time in which this promise 
should be accomplished. — " The sceptre 
shall not depart/' &c. Gen. xlviii. 9. He 
also adds the prophecy of Balaam, &c. 

Before his own death he foretels that a 
Prophet (meaning the Messiah) should be 
raised up to the Hebrews like unto himself. 

Thus much for the history of Moses; 
from which is to be drawn the certainty of 
a promise of redemption, in general terms, 
of a family appointed for the purpose, 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



287 



and of a period when it should come to 
pass. 

As years went on, and the season more 
nearly approached when the person who 
was to bring about the redemption was to 
appear, holy men were occasionally raised 
up with the wonderful power of foretelling 
the very place where this person should be 
seen, and also the circumstances of his 
character. These particulars are to be 
found in the writings of the greater and 
lesser prophets ; but principally in those of 
Isaiah, who is therefore called the Evange- 
lical Prophet. 

Here ends the Old Testament. It was 
necessary to say thus much upon the Old ; 
because, without this, there would be want- 
ing an introduction to the New. 

The New Testament contains an account 
of the accomplishment of those important 
promises which were made at different times 
and by different persons in the Old. It 
gives a history of Jesus, i e. Saviour and 
Christ, the promised Messiah ; or of Him 



828 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

in whose person all predictions and figures 
respecting the Deliverer, so long looked 
for, were brought to their completion. 

This book (claiming the belief of all its 
readers from the certainty of its testimony) 
records the first coming into the world of 
this extraordinary person, and likewise 
every circumstance respecting his life and 
doctrines. It also gives a minute detail of 
events which passed during his continuance 
upon earth ; and at the particular time 
when the purpose for which he was made 
man was to be fulfilled, his death. 

That satisfaction was to be made to God 
by this atonement alone is to be collected 
from the sentence itself, which was at first 
pronounced upon Adam ; " Thou shalt 
die ; " and from sacrifices also appointed 
from the earliest age, and the slaughter of 
victims in the Jewish worship, which 
throughout were typical or figurative. 

As this then was the great end of our 
Saviour's mission, and the earnest to man- 
kind that they should thereby be restored 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



289 



to that state of favour in which they were 
originally made, the writers of the Gospel 
have been particularly exact in recording 
every minute circumstance which might 
establish a conviction that he did cer- 
tainly die. 

To commemorate this death, and in this 
death the redemption of the world, a cere- 
mony hath been appointed, called, by be- 
lievers in Him, the Eucharist, or thankful 
remembrance, and the Lord's Supper. 

It is very well known that the sense of 
obligations is soon obliterated from the 
minds of men, and that ceremonies are of 
great use in reviving in the heart those ne- 
cessary impressions which want of attention 
and the business of the world too often 
deface. 

For this reason the Jews were required 
every year not merely to celebrate, but to 
represent under symbols the deliverance 
of their forefathers from their bondage in 
Egypt. 

Jesus Christ built his religion upon the 



290 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

Jewish. He also required that those who 
were delivered by him from a greater capti- 
vity, that of Satan and Death, should often 
exhibit the means by which this was ob- 
tained, by an ordinance or outward sign. 

For this purpose, on the day preceding 
his death, he called together those who had 
been the companions of his life ; and insti- 
tuted a formal act of remembrance of him- 
self for all he was to suffer, and the benefits 
which they were to receive. 

It was part of the ceremony at the con- 
clusion of the Paschal Feast, for the mas- 
ter of the family to call for a piece of bread 
and a cup of wine. These he blessed and 
distributed to the rest of the company, as 
a mark of friendship and social affection. 

The night preceding the death of Christ 
was the Jewish Passover. He kept that 
feast with his friends, and embraced the 
opportunity of establishing in the last part 
of the ceremony that institution which was 
to supersede the former rites, and to perpe- 
tuate to all ages the remembrance of his 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



291 



sufferings. He took bread and wine ; — 
these he declared should thenceforth be 
regarded as emblems of his body and his 
blood ; emblems only ; for real flesh and 
real blood they could not be. They could 
not (as the Roman Catholics teach) be tran- 
substantiated, i. e. so changed from their 
natural substance as to pass into another. 
They could be nothing more than a repre- 
sentation. 

Under this act the disciples were re- 
quired to remember their Master; their 
Master who was to die for them, and by 
that death to obtain their redemption. 

The disciples who were present were 
Jews, and consequently well knew that it 
was not a matter of choice with them, whe- 
ther they should observe the institution, or 
treat it with disregard. The celebration of 
the Passover could not be dispensed with 
— whoever neglected the ceremonies of that 
feast was cut off from the people. Hence 
it must appear that the Eucharist is of per- 
petual obligation ; and that as Christ insti- 
ll 2 



292 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

tuted this in remembrance of himself when 
the Passover was done away ; it must fol- 
low that there is as absolute a necessity for 
compliance with the latter, as during so 
many ages, for a less cause, there had been 
for the former. Jesus said in a way of 
command, " Do this in remembrance of 
me f and the apostle St. Paul, by using 
the words " as oft as ye drink this cup/' 
implied that the ceremony should be often 
repeated. 

To the necessity of thus conforming to 
the injunction of the Saviour, is to be 
added, the manner by which it may be per- 
formed. Times and countries vary in their 
forms ; and modes in all things are adapted 
to the age in which they are to be done. 
Thus, in modern times, the particular pos- 
ture of celebrating the Eucharist is not 
agreeable to the primitive appointment. 
But wherever the intention and manner are 
accompanied with reverence, the inward 
mind reconciles the outward act. 

Next to the manner is to be considered 



ON THE SACRAMENT, 



the immediate design of performing this 
service. This again may be illustrated by 
reference to the Passover. A Jew in that 
ordinance did not merely commemorate 
the redemption from Egyptian slavery ; 
but at the time of his partaking of the 
ceremony, supposed that he was then more 
immediately declaring himself " one of the 
people of God" who had brought out his 
forefathers with a mighty hand and a 
stretched-out arm. The act was a public 
declaration that he acknowledged himself 
to be a Jew. 

In celebrating the Christian Passover a 
similar design is kept in view. The par- 
takers of this communion make the same 
tacit acknowledgment that they are Chris- 
tians ; that they are believers in Jesus their 
master; and publicly profess that they 
claim a title to that glorious name by which 
they are called. 

Next in order follow the immediate be- 
nefits arising from this institution. Inde- 
pendent of the chief and glorious privilege 



294 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

that Christians have a right to claim by the 
sacrifice and death of their Redeemer in 
another life ; assurance is given, and a 
sensible persuasion arises in the breast of 
a true believer, that by a due observance 
of this rite which was commanded by his 
Lord, he shall not only obtain the ultimate 
blessing — Salvation ; but by showing him- 
self the servant of his Master, shall receive 
in this world from him every aid and sup- 
port which may be necessary for the dis- 
charge of his duty. He is taught to believe 
that from a regular compliance with this 
law, he shall be enlightened by the divine 
grace, i. e. by a secret communication of 
inward power, which may create in his mind 
worthy dispositions, and arm him against 
the assaults of evil and the world. 

After having in this compendious way 
considered the necessity of a redemption ; 
the accomplishment of it; the manner of 
commemorating it, as in the Eucharist; 
and the blessings resulting from it ; I am 
naturally led to consider what is the proper 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



295 



state of mind which Christians ought to 
bring with them when they are more imme- 
diately engaged in this act of religion. This 
is usually called Preparation. 

The true preparation is certainly habitual 
piety, or the encouraging in the mind from 
the earliest years of life a desire to live in 
a regular obedience to the law of God. 
For, in celebrating the Eucharist, an open 
confession is made, that the partakers of 
it are the servants of Christ. Two masters 
cannot be served ; and, therefore, he who 
professes himself a follower of Christ can- 
not be a slave to the evil spirit ; to destroy 
whose dominion the death which he com- 
memorates was undergone. 

What is necessary for the happiness of 
life itself and a fearless expectation of death 
is the best preparation. This is equally 
essential for either state. But since, from 
commerce with the world and the violence 
of the passions, a deviation from innocence 
and duty is day by day lamented by all 
men, stated times of preparation are useful 



296 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

and expedient. For these have a power to 
bring the mind back to its proper frame 
and temper ; they draw it off from negli- 
gence on the one hand, and from incon- 
sistent gratifications on the other ; they re- 
present to the heart, that if the feast is to 
be attended it is highly necessary that every 
guest should put on the required garment. 
In short it reminds every christian that 
to make himself worthy of appearing 
before his Master, it is an indispensable 
requisite that he should carry that only 
in his character which is suitable to his 
service. 

The celebrating the Eucharist is no less 
an act of gratitude in the upright, than of 
repentance in the sinner ; and where the 
latter is sincere, consisting of sorrow 
for past offences, and a desire of amend- 
ment for the days to come ; so gracious 
is the Master who furnishes this enter- 
tainment that he excludes not such from 
his table. 

It may now be asked what are the 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



297 



causes which indispose the generality of 
christians from becoming guests at this 
banquet. These are, in general, a deter- 
mined resolution to forsake no vicious course 
to which they may have been addicted ; 
and a misconception of words to be found 
in Scripture, which speak of the conse- 
quences to the unworthy receiver. As to 
the former, the very design of the Eucha- 
rist is a bar of exclusion from the ordi- 
nance. No man can presume to appear 
before his Maker and Saviour as a chris- 
tian believer who serves other masters, 
Sin and Satan. To such no answer is to 
be given. When they shall see their folly, 
and show repentance, then we trust that, 
though late, the mercy of God, through 
the intercession of his Son, will yet be 
extended to them also. 

The Greek word in St. Paul's Epistle to 
the Corinthians, improperly translated 
Damnation, hath been a discouragement 
to many, and an absolute cause to the ig- 
norant of fear and terror. They have been 



298 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION 

affrighted by the term, and therefore turned 
away from the institution itself. It should, 
however, be known that St. Paul was ad- 
dressing those who had such unworthy 
notions of the Eucharist as to make no 
distinction between that and an intem- 
perate banquet. He told them that they 
must be answerable for such conduct ; that 
they must appear in trial for such an 
abuse ; and as a proof that he did not mean 
an eternal exclusion from future hap- 
piness, he adds that in consequence of 
their profanation, troubles of this life 
were brought upon them, such as disease 
and death. 

The same offence cannot in these days 
be committed ; and therefore so far is the 
everlasting damnation from being to be 
dreaded, that even the temporary is not to 
be expected. 

In short, according to my faith, accord- 
ing to my knowledge, according to my 
trust and confidence, I believe that every 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



299 



man who endeavours to make himself ac- 
quainted with the design of this institution, 
and to frame his life according to the re- 
quisites which it presupposes ; such as 
belief in the Saviour ; a desire to live as he 
has commanded ; a sorrowful remembrance 
of sins committed ; and a wish by the 
assistance of God, which is to be obtained 
through the mediation of Christ Jesus, by- 
earnest and constant prayer, to lead a good 
life, will, at all times, whether by an habi- 
tual or actual preparation, be a worthy 
partaker of the Lord's Supper. 

Did young men in particular consider 
what a serious admonition the frequent at- 
tendance at the Lord's Supper will give 
them ; so as to alarm them against the 
approach of evil, and encourage them in 
the pursuit of good ; they would not be 
surprised that it should be recommended 
to them in the season of their youth ; for 
this alone is to be the support of their 
manhood, the alleviation of old age, and 



300 



ON THE SACRAMENT. 



the anchor of confidence in the hour of 
their death. 

That what has been said may have its 
weight upon your minds, and tend to your 
peace, both now and hereafter, is the sin- 
cere wish of your faithful friend. 



THE END. 



C. Baldwin, Printer, 
New Bridge-Street, London, 



ERRATA. 

Page • 9, — 12th line, for darted, read darting. 

■ 81, — 15th for doctrine, read nature. 

89, — 15th after blessed lord, read describes. 

— 123, — 4th for to suffer, read suffered. 

125, — 8th for the soul, read his soul. 

149, — 6th for this, read his. 



